Smittenly Bitten
by lezonne
Summary: When Draco's failing marriage causes his son to run off and become hurt, he can't seem to get past the fact. Now with something unknown lurking in the woods behind his home, one would think people would only wish to help. But not everything is as is as it seems. Rated for language/possible lemons/violence. Dramione in future. Not fluffy. EWE
1. The Woods

**A/n:** Hello readers! This is my new story I've been talking about for a while and I was finally able to get some major beta work done and decided to post it. Please leave a review at the end so I know if people are checking it out after all this time or not. It will be Dramione, but like the majority of my stories it'll take a while to get there. I hope you like it because it's one of my favorite to write so far! Thanks to my beta's **JDeppIsMyLovely**, **Tessa Cresswell **and **TheInvisiblePrincess **who only edited the first two chapters. I hope you enjoy it :)

**Warnings: **Rated for dark themes, language and scenes. Possible lemons in the future.

* * *

**The Woods**

"If you weren't such an arse then I wouldn't need to spend your fucking money! If you paid a little more attention to me and a little less attention to the industries then I wouldn't have to go on those massive shopping trips!"

"Really now? I was under the impression that you enjoyed spending all of my money. Or do you just like to buy yourself new lingerie to whore yourself out to the nearest shop clerk? Really Astoria, I'm curious. Did you even bother telling the twat you were married or was that confession of undying love simply a declaration based off the fact that you let him pound you into the mattress at our summer home?"

The girls cheeks were bright red as she listened to her husband speak to her in such a manner. "How dare you speak to me like that!? I'm your wife-"

"Yes, you are my fucking wife, and although I'm thoroughly impressed you can acknowledge that fact without having to be signing a massive cheque, it doesn't change a fucking thing. If you are going to head off to foreign countries like a bloody whore then at least do it without tarnishing my name!"

She feigned hurt. "Draco…" she pouted, her eyes huge, "you can't mean that! I'm sorry about…"

Scorpius ignored the rest of his parent's argument. They had been arguing for as long as he could remember, and it had only gotten worse since his grandfather Lucius died and his father took over the Malfoy Industries. The tall blond had been ignoring the members of his family to try to create order in the chaos left to him, but his mother didn't think so. In fact, Astoria Malfoy had brought home three different men in the past month that weren't his father and had gone upstairs with them, shooing those strange men out before daddy returned home. She had bribed the four-year old with candy and new toys to make sure word didn't get out to her charming, rich husband about her betrayals.

The child was far too young to really grasp what was going on, but next month, he would dawn his fifth birthday, a time he couldn't wait for. His father had declared if the young boy was good and didn't get into trouble, he would take the spitting image of himself to work for a day and then to the Quidditch store afterwards, a rare treat the boy had received on his fourth birthday as well. He loved going with his father to work, because Draco Malfoy was far friendlier to his child than Astoria would ever be.

But he wanted to break his promises to his mother and father, just for a minute. Disappearing down the halls of Malfoy Manor back towards his chambers, he continued on right past his bedroom to a door leading to the outside world. Pushing it open, the chilly air outside hit his bare arms and feet. He had half a mind to go back inside, but the drifting screams of his parent's escalating argument forced him forward. He didn't like to be near them when they yelled, because they were so mean to each other. They said words he only vaguely understood, and his mother would hit his father's chest so many times he thought it was mean. Sometimes, the blond man would hit things. He didn't understand why they yelled at each other so much.

His best friend, Elizabeth Zabini (Lizzy for short), had parents that never, ever yelled. He had gone over to Lizzy's house sometimes at night- and he had heard the girl's mother saying more when he was younger about what a horrible match his parents were for each other -when his parent's screams really got, well, scary. It was usually his father that came to get him and take him to Lizzy's house for the night. Uncle Blaise told him it was so his parents could talk, but Scorpius was certain talk was just a nice word to hide the fact that they may just possibly kill each other.

Going outside wasn't something he did often when his parents fought; he usually hid in his bedroom like a little baby to block out the noise. If his grandfather had ever caught him hiding like a baby like he often did, he worried that the old, grouchy wizard may have sent a spell his way. The older man had often done that and hurt him sometimes, which left his father to send crueler spells towards his grandfather. Scorpius couldn't lie if he said he missed the man, for really, he was happy the old bat had gone wherever it was people went when they got old; his father had tried to explain death to him, but without success, and the boy had merely nodded so his father would stop looking so frazzled.

This was only the second time he had resorted to going outside during an argument. The first time had been only a week ago, when some other man ran from the upstairs with his father throwing hexes, telling him to get out and screaming louder at his mother, who only barked at the young boy to 'go to his fucking room'.

Afraid of why his parents looked so murderous, he had fled outside and hid in the gardens; the open windows allowed the parents shouting to get out of the house, and he had cried a bit when something on the upper floors broke. There had been more screaming and breaking things for a while longer before silence took over. Eventually, his father came out with a bag and scooped him up, taking him to Uncle Blaise's and Aunt Pansy's for the night. He had stayed as well, sleeping on the couch. It was the first time that had ever happened, and it wasn't until the morning came that Scorpius noted his father's hand was dried in blood. Uncle Blaise had been kind enough to heal the wound.

Last time, he had been too afraid to venture out past the beginning of the gardens, his parents warning words echoing in his mind. _"The forest surrounding his home was dangerous,"_ they said, _"filled with angry creatures and dangerous plants that could do harm to someone misinformed about what he was dealing with."_ His father had taken him flying a few months ago- something else his parents had argued about- so the child could see the mass expanse of trees surrounding a good part of their home. The tress made the forest look nearly black, and foreboding.

_"You must never go in there," his father had said, flying up a bit higher. "Not until you are my age. There are dangers in there I could never let you face, and should never let you face. I don't know exactly what is in there Scorpius but the place is deadly and few people venture inside. Promise me you will never go there."_

_The child, his slightly chubby cheeks breaking into a grin, turned to his father. "I promise dad."_

_"Good."_

_"Can we fly higher?"_

_"Your mother will have my head for that."_

That had been the end of their discussion, but his father's words rang in his head as he stared at the tress, which practically matched the sky if it were not for the gleam of the stars. Tears stained his eyes as his parent's voices carried out the door, dim but angry. He didn't want to deal with them, or their unhappiness, and decided he didn't care. Bolting, he ignored the sharp little pains in the delicate soles of his feet as he took off running to the forest.

His parent's screams grew dimmer, and in the short sprint to the forest's edge- which lived closest to his part of the Manor, simply because that side was the most overgrown- he felt his surroundings get soft. Entering the forbidden place, he breathed a sigh of relief, his little feet cut from his run over the little pebbles. The forest was scary- and dark- like his father had often warned, but at least it was quiet.

He looked around. There really wasn't much to see, but digging into his pocket he found an All Flavored Jellybean from the pack his mother had given him the other day and popped it into his mouth for something else to focus on. Immediately, he spit it out. That one had been gross.

The forest didn't seem so scary the longer he looked into it. In fact, it didn't seem scary at all. Popping a second bean into his mouth, he walked a bit further, glancing back once to see if the Manor was still in sight. No one was standing outside, and he couldn't hear shouting, so his father would never need to know he disobeyed him by coming in there; he could still go with him to his work if he was careful and went home really soon.

He peered around. There was nothing scary in here! Had his father told him to stay out of the forest just so he didn't come and play out here? He frowned; that would make his father mean! He could have always taken his son to walk in there here if the danger was fake, right?

Scorpius walked further, tripping over a root, and spilling two jellybeans. He grumbled. Now he would have less to eat later. Continuing on a bit, he completely forgot about making sure he could still see home.

It wasn't long before he heard something that made him scream. "Hey kid, what are you doing way out here?" The voice seemed to come from nowhere, scaring the young boy out of his wits. He stumbled in the darkness and reached out for something to help him balance in the darkness, catching a hold of a tree branch in the process and cutting his hand; the cut really hurt, and immediately drew blood.

"Who are you?" he snapped in return, remembering how his father always spoke with authority. He liked that about his father, versus his mother who batted her eyelashes a lot instead, and, having already tried that, he knew from experience that it just made him feel stupid. He puffed out his chest at the darkness and stood as tall as a four year old could, rubbing his hurting hand on the leg of his pajama pants.

Somewhere in the darkness this person clicked his tongue; he had too masculine of a voice to be a girl. "How cute. Are you trying to be brave, son? Brave in face against me?"

"I'm not a coward," the blond boy replied proudly, thinking maybe the man was just taunting him for fun. He wouldn't hurt him with his mother and father so nearby, right?

"I can see that," the man said, stepping out of the darkness so that Scorpius could just make out his features. He was tall, like his father was, but seemed to be wider at the shoulders. The silhouette suddenly seemed a bit intimidating to the child, and he took a step back, wishing his parents were there to step behind, or at least lean against. "You are a brave boy, you came into the woods after all."

"These woods aren't so scary" the child said, grinning. The man thought this place was scary? No! He had only met a strange person, and they were just striking up conversation together like his parents always did. No harm in that.

The man took a step closer, and it was then that Scorpius noted something. The man flashed him a smile, and for just a brief moment he thought he saw pale, sharp teeth. Backing away, the boy forgot about the odd burning in his hand and wondered instead why this person was so odd and terrifying.

* * *

"Scorpius," Draco growled, searching for his son. Enough was enough and his blasted wife would be having her head cut off before she went behind his back again! But the things they were saying really shouldn't be exchanged in the presence of their son, and she had gone to shower while he searched for the boy, prepared to take him off to Blaise's for the night, _again._

He tried making his son's childhood as good as possible; tried to make it everything he never had. But that was hard to do when his wife of five years was out sleeping with everyone she could simply because he was too busy anymore- and sick of the woman's inability to bring pleasure to him. Besides, if she could cheat during their marriage, why couldn't he?

That answer was simple; he was loyal. He had declared his –fake- love to her at a ceremony, and at least kept the part about being loyal to his spouse, something she could never do. It was no secret they fought for their son's affections, and did things sometimes that the other did not approve of, but at least the boy was not neglected. Searching now for his pride and joy, he wondered if they had caused the child to cry.

Scorpius did not grow up with Lucius as a father, and therefore did not have the backbone Draco did at four. He didn't think his child was weak in any way- just hurt over the emotional battles his parents constantly fought. Sighing, Draco shoved open his son's door, only to discover the room vacant.

Raising both eyebrows, he turned quickly and left the room, door open. Glancing both ways down the hall, he wondered if perhaps his son had taken to hiding in the gardens outside again. Hoping that was the answer, he turned quickly and walked out the door at the end of the hall, peering around.

No Scorpius.

_Shit._

Glancing around, he sat the bag down and completely missed Astoria walking out to join him in the garden. "What are you doing," she asked, crossing her arms tightly. "You're supposed to be looking for our son, not playing in the fucking gardens."

He whipped his head around and glared. "I am actually searching for our son," he snapped in return, crossing his arms as well. "He came out here one time when you had been particularly loud one night."

"Are you thick," she spat, "you are always louder than me!"

Draco was about to reply when his wand began to vibrate, Astoria's following suit. The thin pieces of wood glowed lilac, a tracking spell both had placed on their son from birth.

Worried eyes looked up, and Astoria clutched herself. "Scorpius…"

"He's in danger," the blond replied, practically growling. They should've known at some point that in this relationship, they would push the boy too far, but now it seemed so. The problem was the spell only alerted parents that their child was in danger, not where the child was.

Astoria moved to say something else, but a dim cry shut her up. Immediately, the two adults tightened up, their hearts tearing as the small sound echoed back at them in their own heads. The cry had been faint, either from a good distance away or diluted by-

"The forest," she said quietly, before her husband took off running. She followed at a much slower pace, the slutty nightwear she had donned not appropriate for a child to see nor for someone to go running in the woods in. Draco was at least gracious enough to wait for her at the forest's edge and towed her along beside him; he may not like her, but the blasted woman was still his wife and he had an obligation to protect her.

They quickly found themselves lost. The scream had come from the forest, they were sure, but actually figuring out where their son was would be far harder. Stopping, Draco scowled, glaring at his wife. She glared back, both unsure how the bloody fuck they were supposed to locate their son. She was clutching his hand, her heart hammering. His wand caught something on the ground, and she immediately jerked down to pick the item up.

"What are you doing," he spat, glaring at her as she turned. In her hand lay a jellybean, perfectly shaped like it had just been dropped. The blond's eyebrows rose.

"He was here," she breathed, and they both began spinning their wands around, finding another one of the candies a few feet down. Astoria grabbed that one too, and they hurried on, hoping to find eye or ear of their son soon- preferably attached to his adorable head.

There were no more tell-tale jellybeans, but as the pair stopped to look around, wondering if perhaps they had walked in the wrong direction, a child's cry pierced their ears. Astoria reached out and clutched tightly to her husband, but he shook her off and headed towards the sound of his son; he was nearby and yet they had allowed more pain to happen to him! Draco was ready to beat himself to death over that fact just now.

The tall blond saw his son first and nearly collapsed onto his knees. Some sort of creature was rushing off quickly, and Draco poorly aimed a hex at the thing before running to his son's side.

The boy's arm shot out, attacking the side of Malfoy's torso. He was completely thrown when long nails cut deep into his flesh, and stumbled back a bit, stopping his wife from getting any closer to their child.

Wands trained on the monstrous form of the minor, they sucked in their breath. Scorpius's usually clean blond hair was littered with blood and twigs, his neck torn open to reveal a large flow of blood. His nails were quite a bit longer then they had been less than an hour ago, one hand revealing red edges where he had lashed out at his father. The scariest part of all though, were his eyes; small slits of black that mirrored the evil darkness surrounding them.

They stood in shocked, horrified silence for a moment before either moved. "Get the fuck out of this forest," Draco growled at his wife, "Get out and go to the Manor, and floo some healer's. Do not allow any Aurors through or we'll have an even bigger fucking mess to deal with."

"You want me to go alone-"

"Yes!" He was sick of his wife, and at the moment he was far more concerned with his son than the pompous bitch at his side. "GO!" She went this time without complaint, and he took a moment to study the boy further. Merlin's balls, he was bleeding so much, he should be dead!

Draco crept closer, unsure of what he was dealing with. Through the red liquid he could not make out exactly what had created the horrifying gashes, but knew if he got too close, this strange phenomenon that had taken over his son would lash out again, and perhaps leave bigger marks.

He took two steps closer, wand aimed. Throwing out a stunning spell, the boy froze, falling lifeless against the ground beneath him. Looking down, the blond's heart cracked. What had happened to his son?

When he discovered just what had done this, he was going to rip its head off with his bare hands.

Moving quickly, he scooped the child up and headed back towards the edges of the forest, attempting to follow the way he had come so he wouldn't get lost. He could only hope that Astoria had gotten out by now and had done as he said; that was about the only good thing she would have accomplished the entire night.

He quickly found his way out of the woods, adrenaline pumping. As he had once told his son, he did not know what kind of horrors lived behind those trees, just that they should not be tampered with. Why oh why had he ever gone filling the boy's head with those kinds of thoughts? Look where it had gotten him! Heart beating harder than it was capable of, he hurried back inside the Manor, the door he had left through still open, and his son's overnight bag for the Zabini's house forgotten by a large flowerpot.

When he started feeling Scorpius twist, panic rose in his throat. There was no way the effects of that spell had already worn off! The boy was four for Circe's sake; he didn't have the strength to fight off spells. He hardly knew how to handle them.

Pushing quickly into his room, he found there were already several Healer's there, looking on at the bundle in his arms with large eyes. These were not private healer's, but house call ones that would appear on-scene in severe cases, and this was definitely severe.

Just as the blond deposited his child gently onto the bed, his son's eyes snapped open and his hand whipped out, catching his father across the chest with his nails, again. Stunned, the blond stumbled back as the healer's stepped forward, casting multiple spells all at once, while one of the multiple medics in the room turned to Draco himself and quickly began repairing the two bleeding areas on his torso.

But neither of the adults in the room were paying the healer's any mind. They were both staring on at their son, stunned into silence. As the healer removed the first of the tears lower on Draco's body, he watched several people tie his son down with strong-looking binds.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing? That's my son!" The blond struggled to move closer to the people tying him to the bed but the medic immediately had a Propellant spell cast on both parents, kicking them right out the door.

"We need to thoroughly check your son," the woman said firmly, staring at the two before she slammed the door behind her. "I will finish healing you Mr. Malfoy, but something serious has happened to your son and we need to get him immediate medical help. Please, allow us to do our job. You did call on us, after all, so give us the space to do what is necessary."

"And what is necessary?" he growled, ignoring his petrified wife behind him. This woman was going to end up orange if she did not start explaining what the fuck was going on and what the hell had happened to his son; Draco needed a creature to blame this on before he started going hunting in those woods.

"We will find out," the woman said calmly, before moving to heal another mark. He scowled and stood rod still, willing himself to not push her into the wall and demand answers.

That would probably make matters worse.

* * *

He sat with his head in his hands, just outside his son's bedroom door. The Healers were gone, many too fearful and unsure how to continue, others declaring there was a monster in the bedroom. They had left sometime yesterday morning, after having spent the entire night dealing with the condition of his son. He had no answers, just a four year old who was currently on too many potions to understand what was going on.

The clicking of heels on the stone floors alerted him of his wife, and he glanced up from his hands to find the slut as polished as ever- with a bag in her hands. His eyebrows rose. "What do you think you are doing?" His voice came out stern, although he really felt too tired to really give a shit. His darling son was far more important than the cheating wife standing before him.

"I'm going to stay at Daphne's house with her and her husband Marcus," she said flatly, flipping her hair over her shoulder as though it were expected. Standing there in her expensive heels, a priceless handbag on her arm, he couldn't help sneering at her.

"And what about our son- your son?" he seethed, as he stood to glare down at her; he had a several inch advantage in height. The girl remained fearless, having seen her husband look far crueler towards far less important people.

"My son," she snapped in return, "is currently not home. Something awful has happened to him, and he is a danger. I won't stay here in harm's way; you shouldn't want me to!"

He blinked, taking several seconds to process what she was saying. What was wrong with her? "You're abandoning our son," he said flatly, the emotion gone in his voice, "Just like that? Something bad happens and you run away?"

She turned up her nose. "Hardly! I am afraid of what he will do to me- to us!" She let her hand glide over to him and rest on his chest. "I wouldn't want him hurting either of us, Drake," she said, using the ill-fitting nickname he despised but she seemed to adore, "Please come with me. Let the doctors do as they will."

He shoved her hand away. "You're delusional, and a fucking awful parent. You go on and on to people about how much you love your son, but as soon as something happens, when a mother should really be there, you rush off." He gave her a shove, not hard enough to be brutal but enough so that she stumbled. Shooting him a glare that the blond ignored, he continued to speak right on as though she wasn't sending him a death look.

"I'm sorry for Scorpius," he continued, still emotionless. "I'm sorry that he is stuck with such an awful mother like you. I don't have to give a shit how awful you are, because I married you only for convenience not love, but our son loves you, and you're shoving him away. He will need you when he is better- he needs you now while he works this out- and you're abandoning him!" The blond's eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps this is your excuse to go and sleep around again?"

"Draco," she screamed, causing a shuffling noise to sound from their son's bedroom, which only one parent ignored, "How dare you!? I am just looking out for my own wellbeing!"

"But not your son's," he said darkly, resisting the urge to hit something. Instead he massaged his temples, taking unnecessary amounts of air in and he breathed deeply. "Get out of my Manor," he said promptly, crossing his arms.

Her eyes widened. "Excuse me? I'm your wife!"

"Yes, and a poor example of one at that. If you prefer to sleep with other men and ignore your son when he needs you, then you are no wife of mine. Get out of Malfoy Manor, the wards will be changed soon enough. You are free to make yourself into as much of a slag as you want, but I will not take it anymore. We're getting a divorce."

Her eyes widened. "I refuse!"

Chuckling, he patted her shoulder; only to have his hand swatted away, but that didn't faze him one bit. "It doesn't matter if you refuse dear. The laws of marriage are clear and we both know the laws of society don't force a faithless marriage. All I have to do is write a letter to the Ministry with my seal and it will be done within a week." He smirked at the look on her face; she was horrified. "Awful things happen to those of us who aren't faithful dear."

She was livid. "It's not that easy to end a marriage, Malfoy, you know that!"

"Malfoy, now, is it? My, you are going to the extremes to hurt me." He flicked his wand, causing her to spin around so her back was to him. "Now it's nice to waste my time on you, but get out. You do have plans after all."

He didn't wait to see if she left, he just turned and sat back down. The quick clicking of her heels told him that she was walking away, and the sudden silence that followed after a footfall alerted him of the fact that she was gone. Pulling his wand back out again, he changed the wards to not allow 'Mrs. Malfoy' in. The woman was a heartless bitch if she could so easily avoid a four year old boy- her four year old boy!- at a time like this. Scorpius did not need a mother if that were the case.

He sat there for a long time after Astoria had left. He wasn't sure how long, but enough time had passed that his body was completely stiff and sore by the time he decided to stand up. Rubbing his neck, he glanced at the door again, contemplating his options. It had been advised that neither parent went inside until after someone else came to check out the boy, but it was his fucking son and he was concerned.

Disregarding the warnings the Healer's had given him, he reached for the knob and turned it, peering inside to see how his son had fared; was he still this strange looking creature that had sliced the blond's skin open?

The thing lying on the bed provided an answer the moment his eyes landed on it.


	2. The Paper

**A/n: **This update isn't nearly as late as that of some of my stories, mostly because I have a couple chapters already written. Hope you like it! Thanks to my beta's **JDeppIsMyLovely **and **Tessa Cresswell**!

**The Paper**

Hermione Granger was satisfied with her life. She had a great job at St. Mungo's, working on special cases, and often times, on people who had difficult cancers and diseases. She adored her position; loved getting to help save a life and cherished how happy she could make a person when she nurtured someone back to health.

She usually tried not to focus too much on the bad parts of her job. Today she was making rounds with another healer- Hannah Abbott- and was busily chatting with her Hogwarts classmate. They had rarely spoken, but Hannah seemed to be a nice enough person.

She had a satisfying job, her favorite cat, a comfy apartment she could call home, and great friends. Yes, life was going fairly well for Hermione.

"How are we today Mia?" Hannah asked, stepping into the room of a young woman with breast cancer. The cancer was not exceptionally hard to treat in the magical community, but it did require a lot of rest, preparation, and recovery. Mia Davis- an American wizard attending one of the colleges in London- was currently recovering.

"Good," she said brightly, smiling a smile that would've made Hermione's parents quite happy; she had nice straight, white teeth. "Healer Strauss came in earlier and brought me a special breakfast because it's my birthday today."

"Yes it is," Abbot said kindly, as Hermione twisted her head to see something lying on the table. "How old are you today, twenty-six?" She had the paper right in front of her and could easily figure it out, but really didn't want to do the math early in the morning. Abbot had a tendency to be lazy.

"Twenty-five," she said happily. Whatever was said next was lost to Hermione's ears as she pulled the newspaper away from the pile of items littering Mia's side table, a headline drawing her attention. The other two witches carried on their conversation, oblivious to the girl's curiosity.

_Malfoy Heir Gone Forever?_

_Late last night, a team of highly skilled call-in Healer's were allegedly called to the Malfoy Manor, with Mrs. Malfoy screaming that something horrid happened to her son. The Healers arrived on scene- without an Auror for protection- and found that something truly horrible did happen to their son. No one has come forth with the explanation of what had occurred to the Malfoy heir, yet._

_Scorpius Malfoy- son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy- is believed to have wandered into the woods behind the Manor, one of the Healer's told a reporter upon return. Something serious happened to the young boy, just four years old, leaving Medical Wizard's without a clue as to just what had transpired. _

_The young boy, known to Blaise and Pansy Zabini as lively when he chose to be, and too curious for his own good, had never really been violent or nasty in nature, unlike his father was at a young age. The gentle-hearted toddler was reported to have "slashed marks" through his father twice while the man attempted to help him. One doctor even reported an attack on the mother, Astoria, but we were unable to determine how reliable this is._

'_A child who was so nice and calm is now a full-fledge vicious monster,' another source tells us. Skilled Healers with Auror protection will continue to visit the Manor until an answer can be found. The child was reported to be the safest to himself and others if he is confined in a home with few residents._

_We have reason to believe the mother, Astoria, has jumped ship. She was seen around two this morning entering a pub with her sister and brother-in-law, Daphne and Marcus Flint, just an hour or so after Healers left with awful news. Draco Malfoy has not been seen outside of his home for any sort of meeting or social gathering since last night, and is even neglecting his duties to his business matters. It seems that those Malfoy's are a more twisted group then we first believed._

_Healers will continue to visit the Manor 24/7 until some sort of conclusion can be reached. We plan to stay at St. Mungo's keeping the news flowing each time until something new surfaces. Until next time dear readers!_

Hermione thought she might just throw up a little bit. The writer of this article had far too peachy of an attitude for the topic, and it made the entire article annoying to read. Still, that did not deflate the serious nature of this issue; the woods behind the Malfoy Manor were quite large and did branch out past the wards into other magical community outskirts as well as one or two muggle homes. The fact that something this serious happened to Malfoy's son was worrying, but with the things that had been 'sighted' in the place, Malfoy should've been a better parent and kept his son out of them to begin with. Now that should've been in the article!

The other thing really bothering her about the report was all the apparent Healer's that had been called in for this. She was one of the top medics at the hospital- and only at twenty-three mind you- so she should've been to that place as least once already! Screw her past with Malfoy, what had happened to his son sounded both horrible and intriguing and she wanted a front row seat in seeing just what it was, and how she could fix it. This called for a talk with her boss.

Setting the Daily Prophet back down, she noticed neither woman seemed to have taken interest in what she was doing. Pleased with that fact, she cleared her throat and caught Hannah's attention. "I need to go and discuss something with Frank. Can you handle the rounds alone this morning?

The blond rolled her eyes. "Of course I can; only one of us really needs to do this section anyways. Go on."

"Thanks," she replied, giving Mia a large grin before taking her leave. Frank Williams was the Director at the hospital and scheduled where each nurse, Healer and patient was. If anyone could get her in to see Draco Malfoy's son, it would be him.

It didn't take long to find Frank, considering he spent the majority of his time in his office, seven days a week. Hermione was let in barely a second after she knocked. Entering, she found the small man had a lot of papers on his desk from constantly working; his usually small, neat piles were strewn about and he looked exceptionally tired.

"Ah, Hermione," he said, giving her a worn smile. She was right, he sounded exhausted. "What can I do for you?"

She dropped the newspaper onto his desk, pushing back stray strands of her hair. "I was wondering about this case with the youngest Malfoy; it seems no one has made any headway."

Frank frowned. "Miss Granger, it has barely been a day since the case was filed. The simple fact of the matter is the boy went into some woods behind his ancestral home, and this is the result." Her boss waved his hand over the newspaper article. "Healers always over-exaggerate what's wrong when they are looking to be in a paper, just like reporters make the stories worse. Scorpius Malfoy will be fine in a matter of days, and then you can forget about this entire ordeal."

She still looked irritated. "If it is not fixed in a matter of days, then perhaps I could check it out myself?" Despite her irritated look, she still managed to look a bit sheepish about her question.

The man sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Hermione- Miss Granger- the Healer's are assigned by skill to house calls, but I don't think it would be the best idea to send you to Malfoy Manor. I am quite aware of the history you once shared with Draco Malfoy, and sending you will only cause more problems. Stay here working in your section, and another dangerous house call will come up and I will assign you then. I don't think the Malfoy Manor house call is appropriate though."

"I don't care that it's Draco Malfoy," she replied, trying to not look irritated still. This sounded like a major outbreak- or maybe a reaction- and she was very curious to see it firsthand. "His son is not him, and he is obviously in a bit of a mess," she continued, pointing to the article again. "I am an adult now Mr. Williams, and I can act like one, even with Draco Malfoy. I would really like you to consider me if anymore Healers refuse to visit the Manor."

He rubbed his forehead wearily. "If you insist, Miss Granger- but be warned. Any misbehavior and you will be yanked from this house call permanently."

"Of course," she replied, smiling as she tried to ignore the fact that he really was treating her like a child. This had never happened before, and she assumed it was only because of the articles after the war that highlighted key people from both sides- and where Draco Malfoy had been mentioned, the Golden Trio had been as well, and everyone was now well-informed of just how well they had gotten along in school. Be that as it may, that was school and it had been four years ago. A twenty-three year old woman was more mature than an eighteen year old girl, and Hermione had always been mature for her age. Her boss needed to stop worrying about her making a big, newsworthy scene and simply think about her skill levels.

"Very good," he said, nodding his head. "Best get back to work Miss Granger, you still have your regular duties to follow." She nodded, saying goodbye before turning and leaving, irritation still biting at her skin.

* * *

It was a month before she heard anything about her request. A week after she had spoken with Frank Williams, a Healer had been seriously injured and put into the emergency ward himself. That had put everyone on edge about what was going on at Malfoy Manor, but the workers at St. Mungo's had managed to keep it under wraps and no newspapers had posted anything about the events so far.

After that less and less Healers frequented the Manor. Hermione had no idea what condition Scorpius was in nor did she know if Malfoy was still holding up. No one that went into the Manor seemed to want to explain what was happening. But it was a four year old boy for Circe's sake! She knew little of what resided in the forest around the dark home, just that it was not written about really in any books. So she still could not fathom what had happened or why the results seemed so destructive for Healer's minds.

The brunette was just sitting down for lunch one afternoon when Frank called her into his office. Confused, she had gone on the short walk to see him, finding the man in a state of distress. The amount of paperwork had quadrupled since she had last been in the office.

"Good afternoon," she said as cheerily as possible, taking in the space. The stacks of paper were now taking over the seats employees usually sat in when they came to talk to Frank, so she stood politely next to them as the man flew through even more papers lying on his desk.

"You will begin reporting to Malfoy Manor for work starting Monday. You are a day Healer and will work side-by-side with Adam Lincoln. Follow what he tells you to do and do not get too close to the patient or his father unless you must."

She scrunched her face up. "Why can't I get near Malfoy," she asked, genuinely curious. It probably sounded bad that she wouldn't even call the blond by his first name, but she was concerned about his son not him and only had to be as polite as required.

Frank stopped looking through the papers for a moment, looking up to meet her eyes. "You'll see Miss Granger. Monday, don't be late."

* * *

For Hermione, it was a bit eerie to be able to openly floo into the place that had once tormented her. The Manor looked roughly the same as it had the last time she visited- dark and disturbing- and she found herself walking a bit closer to Adam than necessary as she walked down the hallway, unsure how to really maneuver through the place. It had been years since her last visit, and she had seen very little of the place when she had been there.

"So, what have you figured out," she asked Adam in the poorly lit corridors of the Manor. For it being day, it was depressingly dark. The curtains were drawn, shutting out the sun and the small candles lit did little to illuminate and bring any sort of joy to the place.

He glanced behind himself at her. "Nothing really," he said, continuing to walk. "We're still trying to figure things out. This is like nothing I have ever seen," he continued, giving her an odd look.

She frowned at his words and continued walking. Could they really be that stumped? It had been over a month and no one knew anything? Now she was a bit concerned. Just what had Malfoy let happen to his young child?

They soon reached a hallway that had more life to it than the other places. It still lacked light like everywhere else but a blond head sat at the end of the corridor, just outside a bedroom. She immediately recognized this as Draco Malfoy, and scrunched up her nose at the way he looked; an absolute mess. As they neared him she took note of the empty liquor bottle at his side and that his head rested lazily against the doorframe.

"Any changes Mr. Malfoy," Adam asked kindly, stopping outside said door. Malfoy didn't even bother glancing up to see just who had come along with the man.

"None," he snapped, but the usual venom that Hermione had grown accustomed to being in his voice was absent. He looked worn, tired, and depressed. For a moment, she could almost pity him, but then she remembered that he had let his son run into that forest and hardened her expression. He deserved to be sad.

Adam nodded, before motioning for Hermione to pull her wand out. She did, and followed him into the concealed room, watching Malfoy as she brushed past him. The prick didn't even bother glancing up at her.

The first thing she noted was that the room was quite messy; everything had been broken or tossed around. She half expected something to jump out of the shadows of the place, but nothing did. Instead her eyes zeroed in on the still form lying on a bed, looking like he had been bound to the mattress. She cringed, recognizing the form of a small boy. The Healers were out of their minds if they thought that was how one treated a child!

"Hello Scorpius," Adam said slowly, not approaching the bed. When she moved to brush past him, he held out an arm and stopped her, motioning with his head that it wasn't a good idea. She frowned at him, before lighting her wand to have a better look.

The form on the bed was twisting. She could just make out long, talon like nails that seemed to have something dried onto them; she recalled the article from a month ago in the prophet, explaining that Scorpius 'the monster' had sliced through his father's chest. Perhaps it was reminisces of that. She cringed, thinking that someone should've done something about that.

The figure growled, but gave no response. She was beginning to become apprehensive about just what was going on and what kind of reaction Scorpius' body had to whatever had happened. This seemed like more than a reaction to something, and she glanced at Adam, wondering why no one had done more.

When Adam didn't speak again, she got curious and studied him, only then realizing that he was quietly chanting some spells. She crinkled her nose, wondering what he could be doing, when he suddenly stopped and looked at her, catching her off guard.

"It's safe to draw closer for now, but if you see any sudden, strong movement get back; you don't want to end up in the medical ward like Jefferson."

Her confidence wavered a bit. Her curiosity was as strong as ever, but the idea of getting closer seemed a bit daunting. These were a lot of precautions for a four year old boy, even if he had talons…

Stepping much closer to the bed, she flicked her wand and to make the lights brighten. Adam cringed at this action and she couldn't quite place why. Nonetheless, she turned her attention back to the figure on the bed and sucked in a sharp breath. This was not what she had wanted to see.

The figure had long, sharp teeth that dug into his lips whenever he closed his mouth. The boy indeed had talons, as well as what looked like pointed ears. He was bound to the bed, the sheets pulled to his armpits in what she believed was to be a comforting manner. There were stitches on his shoulders, and overall she thought he looked to be in pain. One might question why she bothered examining this as the young child looked on at her with hate, but she wanted to examine every detail. So many people had already had a difficult time with this problem, and she would not allow her boss to believe she was unfit do deal with this; he had enough issues letting her come as it was.

The Gryffindor felt pity for the child before her. How on earth could the Healer's have bound him to the bed continuously? There were spells to keep him away from anyone he may harm with those talons, so was this necessary? From what she knew from the reports- the reports she hadn't believed until now- he was constantly bound, and that would make anyone mad.

"What happened to you," she breathed, looking down at the young child. In return she was only glared at.

"Don't get to close Hermione," Adam warned from behind her. "The boy is dangerous."

"Dangerous," she snapped, flipping her head around to look at him. "I would be dangerous too if I was bound to the bed all the time! Do you know how completely awful this is? How can any of you stand yourselves-"

"Hermione," Adam scowled, mimicking the blond outside in a way that was almost frightening, "stop. We do this for our own protection; if we all get hurt every time we come to this dreaded place then nothing will ever happen. He needs to be bound-"

"Constantly-"

"-until we know what we are dealing with," he snarled, glaring at her. "This isn't normal. We don't even understand what we are dealing with!"

She frowned, walking over to grab Adam by the arm before she hauled him off towards a corner, glaring at him the entire way. "You act as though that child isn't even here; you talk like he isn't in the room."

Her co-worker cast a wary glance back over at the child in bed. "I'm not sure he understands us. One day, I was in here with Laura, and he just kept staring at us with big eyes. I was going to pity him and maybe untie some of the binds, but the moment I got too close he started snarling. I'm not sure he understands us vocally, but our actions are still as clear as day to him; in fact, I don't believe he has understood us vocally for a while. I haven't bothered to take any conversations to the other room because I feel that if he did understand us he would talk back; question us."

The brunette frowned. "He's four. Has no one thought the child to be just lost or confused?"

Adam groaned, rubbing his temples. "Well of course we have considered that! The problem is he won't communicate, so we can't really do anything about it. We don't treat him poorly; we just don't know what he's feeling. Enough of us have gone home with multiple cuts and scars proving that we have attempted to run tests on his mind. Nothing's been working Hermione; we are no closer to discovering what happened to him than the day we started."

She sighed, glancing back at Malfoy's poor son. "And his father? Does Malfoy get through to him?"

The man scoffed. "Draco Malfoy is so drunk most of the time it's pathetic. He hasn't taken this well, nor the fact that his lovely wife walked out on him after this event." Adam looked uncomfortable, his eyes jumping around. "He doesn't talk much either, and we still don't really know what he saw. The Ministry sent Aurors who were supposed to search those woods in the back but he argued against it, saying there were too many things in there to go running inside. Nobody has been in there yet, and he still can't explain what he saw. Astoria Malfoy was asked as well, but she followed her husband and saw even less. We don't know what to go off of."

"What have you been researching," she asked, eyebrows knitting together. He had seen her like this so many times when cases came around; whenever something came into the hospital that could not be explained, Hermione was known to go off and research it before the Healer's assigned to that patient ever got the chance. She was certainly the researcher of St. Mungo's. "Anything about his type of talons, or his teeth? Merlin, he has pointed ears- you could've gone over a book or two about vampires and found some spinoff from the race-"

"Vampires," Adam asked, stopping her train of thought. "Vampires haven't existed in a long time Hermione, and the remaining few wouldn't take up residence in the back of a place like this. Werewolves perhaps, but never vampires." He reached out, placing a hand on her forehead. "Are you sure you are up for this Granger? You seem a bit… off. I've never heard you jump to such conclusions.

Jump to conclusions? What else do you know of that has nails like that? It's probably so distanced, primal breed that's just like a vampire. She pushed his hand away. "I'm fine, really."

He nodded, walking towards where Scorpius lay. "Very well; back to work then?"

"Actually," she said, and he paused to glance back at her, "I believe I will be going to speak with his father."

Adam's eyebrows drew together, remembering his boss's words about not letting her spend time with the blond man. "Hermione, I'm not sure-"

"He has to be feeling pretty bad about what happened to his son Adam, else he wouldn't be drinking so much. I'm going to talk to him, just to see if he is willing to let something slip in a moment of anger. He can't stand me after all."

The boy opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione, expecting this, bolted out of the room before he could protest. He cursed himself as he turned back to Scorpius Malfoy again, wondering who he should be more afraid of; the child, his father, or his boss, Frank.


	3. The Research

**A/n: **Sorry for the late update! I hope you enjoy it anyways. I like this story a lot, so if you do too please keep up those super nice reviews! Thanks again to my beta(s) **Tessa Cresswell** and **JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Research**

Draco was impressed with himself at his ability to not curse Granger for stepping foot on his property. Perhaps if he were sober he would consider the idea, but not so long as she was in that room with his son. If anything, he would not interrupt her then; so many people had come and gone from that space with looks of horror, disgust and terror that he feared no one would want to ever help anymore. At least this man kept returning, and if he remembered anything about the Gryffindor, she was stubborn and would keep trying. That was all he could hope for anymore.

He laid his head back against the wall, rubbing his eyes tiredly. It had been a long day thus far and he was not looking forwards to dealing with any more of it. Every day seemed a lot longer than it actually was as he sat against the stone wall, guilt washing over him like rain on the streets. He did not know how Astoria did it, just looked at the situation and continued on with her life like nothing had ever happened, but that was not who he was. He could not do that, not without feeling the guilt build in his chest whenever he was reminded of what had happened to his son. So what if the child had slashed marks through his flesh? The boy had gotten the idea to escape into the forest to get away from his _parents_, and that would always dwell in the depths of his mind. His son lay bound to a bed, confused and angry, because of yet another argument with Astoria.

The door to the bedroom opened, and he looked up to spot Granger coming out. Despite the fact that this woman was practically the smartest person alive, he couldn't help the feeling of uneasiness that washed over him because she was in his home. This girl was someone who was the exact opposite of him, who always beat him, and he couldn't stop his childhood bitterness from slipping in as he watched her approach him. Whatever she wanted he had a feeling was about to put him in a worse mood.

"Malfoy," she said, and he noted how unprofessional she sounded in that moment.

"Just Malfoy," he asked, raising an eyebrow, "With your reputation Granger, I expected something more professional. Something with a "Mr." in front of it?"

She only rolled her eyes. "Were you anyone else, perhaps. But we have never been kind to one another Malfoy and just because I am here to assist with this does not mean that we have to be exceptionally respectful, just cordial. Don't expect me to go the extra mile to be nice to you."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he muttered, as she took a seat in front of him. He immediately stiffened, knowing he wasn't going to like what she had in store for him. This was Granger after all; if she thought her co-worker could handle this she wouldn't be sitting in front of him now, and he knew she was going to start talking about something he didn't like.

She placed her hands in her lap politely, and he couldn't help the eye roll. She could be so uptight. "What led to your son running into the forest?"

He rolled his eyes again, and he noted her glare. Good. "I was having an argument with my wife as usual, and he took more drastic measures of escape."

Her eyes flashed, although she did already know this. "Malfoy, I need you to try and tell me what you saw out there. It's vital that we figure out as much as we can about this in order to help your son as much as possible."

His jaw tightened, as did his hand on the bottle beside him. "I have already discussed this with-"

"With other people who are not me," she cut in, but giving him a chance to finish. "I don't have complete knowledge of what you yourself have said, versus the interpretations that others have made. I want to hear what you have to say about what you saw Malfoy, because that is the only way I can be sure to get everything out of this I can in order to help. So I ask again; what did you see?"

He shook his head. "I hardly saw anything; whatever attacked Scorpius was already rushing off before I ever got there. I didn't get a clear image, I saw nothing. I don't know what you are searching for Granger, but I don't have your answers. I don't know what the fuck attacked my son."

Hermione was shaking her head at her former classmate long before he finished speaking. Not only did Malfoy sound defeated, he sounded drunk. He couldn't stop drinking, could he? What kind of example was he setting for his son- perhaps that was why the child ran; he knew what mommy and daddy did to cope with their relationship- drinking and whoring themselves out. She was disgusted.

When the blond brought the bottle to his lips again, she whipped out her wand and levitated it out of his grip, earning a glare as it landed in her grip. Without blinking an eye at the disheveled blond she brought the bottle down and smashed it against the ground, happy to hear the glass break and feel the strong liquid soak at her robes. So what if she had to change? He didn't need to be drinking like that in her company.

The blond rose quickly to his feet following this, and she was no fool to remain on the ground. Even in the bad light she could see how angry his eyes- and stance- had become. "Just what do you think you are doing there Granger?" he hissed, getting in her face. Despite their height differences, she was completely unmoved by his anger.

"This is a _professional_ meeting Malfoy; you shouldn't be drinking." She couldn't help the light smirk that graced her lips as his features continued to darker. "You shouldn't be drinking so much anyways; it's awful for your health. Stop making a fool of yourself and act like a bloody adult, will you? Nothing is going to get any better with you moping around, and I will not work with you when you are constantly slurring your words. Your son needs you, and obviously you can be a fine father when you try- if the reports I have read are any indication of the burning love you have for your child. Now show me that it's not an act."

He took a step closer. "I don't care who you think you are Granger; you will not tell me how to live in my home. Your job here is strictly professional, nothing more. Stick to what you need to know and do _not,_ under any circumstances, think you have any reason or right to speak to me like you are."

But Hermione just smiled, unwilling to allow him to push her around while she was only trying to do her job. "Then I will advise you instead Malfoy; your son may not be himself at the moment, but he is still the same little child underneath it all, and I am sure he can see how much his father has been drinking- _when _you actually go in there. I believe that qualifies as bad parenting. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I am done trying to get through that thick skull of yours for today."

Draco didn't respond as the girl stood, smoothed down her wet robes, and left to return to the room. The nerve of her! What kind of control did she think she had in this job? She was not there to lecture, only to heal his son. He stood to find something else to drink. He would be dead before he took advice from that bitchy girl.

* * *

Hermione was irritated. No wonder no one got anywhere with this case! She had asked Adam repeatedly about things that the Healers had researched, but not once had anyone considered the paranormal possibilities. This was the magical world for Circe's sake! Vampires, Werewolves and the like all existed, so why did no one bother considering and researching this? It would make what they were dealing with far more difficult, but at least they would have something to go off of. If the creature that attached Scorpius Malfoy was of paranormal origins, then that forest behind the Manor was far more dangerous than anyone had ever suspected.

She threw her bag down on her couch when she returned home, reaching up to rub her temples. If watching a young child fight with his own inner demons was not enough to pull at her heartstrings a bit, watching the father was. Yes, their talk had not gone as she had wanted- for instead of discovering things about the attacker she had lectured him on parenting- but she had been able to look into those angry eyes and see real pain. If there was any one thing in this entire world that Malfoy seemed to care about, it was his son and what had happened to him seemed to be tearing the blond man apart. Perhaps she should've been nicer when they spoke, but she had been so irritated with his drunken breath and disconnection with the topic, she had snapped and their talk had escalated from there. It was not that she felt that he was disconnected from the situation itself, just from their conversation; he had not wanted to have it at all.

Sighing, she sat on her couch and began opening her bag, pulling out the file on the case as well as her detailed notes. She had observed Scorpius so much while Adam ran tests that it was insane; she now had seventeen pages on every little thing she had noticed, and intended to start looking those things up tonight. It was already exceptionally late, but she wanted to get as much done as possible. She may not like Draco Malfoy in any way, shape or form, but she could pity him; his family had been torn apart and he was left to try and put the pieces back together. That was a heavy burden that seemed to weigh the blond down, and reflecting on it now she could pity him just a tiny bit.

The first thing she planned to look at were the paranormal possibilities before her. It seemed like the best option for now, considering that she had few leads at all. Even if no one else believed this was a possibility, so long as she could find information to back up her theory, she might actually be able to make some progress in this issue.

But how long was that going to take?

* * *

He sat in his living room that morning, away from his son's room. The child seemed to never sleep, but he was forced to when weariness overtook him. Assuming that Granger would find yet another reason to bitch at him if he were to be asleep on the floor in the morning, he had migrated down the hall to rest. But now he was awake and alert, a bottle of vodka sitting beside him. Granger was probably right, this wasn't healthy, but who cares?

Draco truly didn't know what to do. When Astoria was around he drank, but now he was always drinking. Maybe he didn't drink so much when she was around because they were always screaming, or he was always taking Scorpius elsewhere, but whatever the reason he had noticed that his intake had gone up. Then again, maybe it was just the stress levels.

Granger and her co-worker Adam would be arriving within the hour. He had no intention of staying around so she could 'talk' to him again, but he was curious to see the girl Before departing last night Adam had given him an update, and apparently the brunette had taken pages upon pages of notes regarding the situation so she could investigate further, and he could not deny that he was mildly interested to see just what she had come up with. With her reputation, she had to have found something out, right?

He groaned, rubbing his head. He was only hoping that this girl had discovered something so that anything could be done to help Scorpius. Thus far no headway had been made, and that was really stressing him out. More than anything in the world, he wanted his son to be okay. He had not been able to sleep at night since then without vivid, terrifying nightmares plaguing his dreams. He took dreamless sleeping potions when he could not tolerate it, but building an addiction to those could be horrible and that was something he was trying his hardest to avoid. They didn't need any more problems in the house.

The fireplace roared to life and he looked up, expecting to see Granger and Adam stepping out, but was surprised when his gaze fell on strong Italian features. The man who was stepping into his home brushed off his robes, looking around the dreary structure with a sense of hate filling him; there was so much hate within the space, but he sensed it was not from Draco hating him, but Draco hating himself. Self-hate polluted the air.

"I wondered if you would ever come here again," he said, and the visitor's head shot over to look at his friend. Draco had not replied to a single owl that his family had sent, and his daughter had begun to worry. Lizzy missed her friend and wanted to know what had happened to him. Her parents had yet to figure out how to tell her- or what lie to give her. Besides, like many people within the magical community of London, Blaise did not fully understand the situation either.

"I was giving you some time to yourself before I disrupted your thoughts," the Italian replied, walking through the space to sit in a chair opposite his best mate.

"You took long enough," he muttered in return.

Blaise sighed, running a hand over his features. He knew Malfoy would be difficult- he was _always_ difficult- but this was a dangerous topic to tread on. He knew mentioning Astoria was entirely out of the question, but the man's slutty wife was not the reason for his visit. "You would not have wanted me here anyway. You like your space Draco; you always have."

The blond shrugged, that wall of isolation back up, just like it had been years ago when Blaise first got close with the blond during the war. He had kept himself isolated from others then because of the pain and the feelings coursing through him, and he was doing the same thing now. Blaise had seen it all before.

"How is he?" the Italian asked slowly, careful where he treaded. The last thing he needed was for the blond to lose his cool, jump up and start screaming. The situation was delicate and he needed to treat it as such, no matter how much he wanted to pound the git with questions.

His friend stiffened at the question. "There have been better days."

Zabini nodded, looking around the room. He could see where different things had been broken, but exactly what had caused them to break was something he did not voice. It could have been a number of things from that night; the fight between an estranged couple, the child's power later when they found him, or the blond man's blind fury later on when he had to take in everything that happened. It was probably best not to ask. Besides, he was having a hard time with the ordeal too.

Draco was certainly his best friend, but the Italian had been having torn thoughts about what happened. The two were best friends, but Malfoy let this happen to his son over another fight. Blaise knew very well that the blond's marriage would come crashing down at some point, but never had he thought that it would be because of this. He never thought the results would leave the blond man so broken.

Still, Blaise felt that perhaps the parents were at fault for what happened. If they did not have those sorts of fights in front of their child, the young boy would not have ever felt the need to go into those foreboding woods, and this would not have happened. Did it really take the suffering of a child to make his parents see this?

The man opened his mouth to reply to Draco when the Floo roared to life again, and the two residents of the living room looked over to see two very collected looking Healer's step out, one of them of course being Hermione. Blaise was stunned to see this girl of all people there, but Draco merely rolled his eyes at her appearance again.

"Mr. Malfoy," Adam said politely, nodding his head to Draco and Blaise as he passed. Hermione said nothing, only studied the Italian as she passed, wondering why he looked so familiar. Had they gone to school together?

"Granger's helping," he said, once the two had gone down the hall. Turning back to his pale friend, the Italian raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you let her in at all."

"She's smart," he said bluntly, rubbing his jaw. "She is likely to be able to figure out what has happened before anyone else."

Blaise agreed, but fell into silence. Had Draco just allowed Granger in so he could have someone smart enough around to possibly save his son. Sitting there watching his friend, the man cocked his head. Years before, he would have killed that girl for entering his home, whether or not she could help.

A child had changed Malfoy's soul, and now he needed Granger to save the child.

* * *

"You did all this research on paranormal activity when there's a possibility that none of it is relevant?" Adam asked, his eyebrows high on his head. Hermione had produced to him her first set of notes taken from the books in her home and had depicted in them how every minor detail was relevant to what they were dealing with.

"I searched many options, but really, I quickly ran out of ideas," she said, stepping past him to near the bed. Crouching a distance away, she studied the long talon-like nails that now rested on the ends of the child's fingers. They looked terribly painful. "I had few options, but that topic did stick out and many of the things I noticed are similar, if not the exact same."

"A vampire? You want me to tell our boss that we believe a vampire attacked Scorpius Malfoy? Couldn't you have done a report on Werewolves at least? Hermione, I agree some of the things do appear to be similar, but vampires are rare! You've said it yourself, and even if there is one hiding in the woods behind this place, why would it attack a child? They are a highly intelligent race, they wouldn't risk being caught for a quick meal. With the danger they pose whenever someone finds a vampire they kill it; that's why there are so few, and that's why they hide. I don't see why one would risk exposure like this."

"I know," she sighed, sitting fully on the floor. "I know their history Adam; I read about it once in my fourth year at Hogwarts. They are quite interesting creatures to say the least. But I can't ignore what I am seeing; I see signs of a vampire in him, something that crossed-"

"Stop," Adam cut in, and she glanced behind herself to look at him. "Just stop Hermione; we need to do more research before we jump to conclusions. Yes, the evidence is great, but no one is going to believe us, and if people do, it will cause an uproar. We can't just jump into that; we need to understand everything first."

She frowned, disliking the way he continually shot her evidence to an answer down- and what's more, kept speaking and explaining things like she knew nothing. She was the smartest witch of her age, whatever he knew she probably knew as well. There was no reason for him to talk down to her.

"I already know that," she said, standing again. She looked at him, placing her hands on her hips. She wanted him to know that she was irritated, and she wanted an excuse to not have to look at the poor, bound child anymore. It was inhumane.

"Good," he said, walking past her. As he passed, he shoved the papers into her grip. She stumbled a bit because of the force behind his shove. Well, he was certainly in an awful mood. If she was looking forward to a good day, it appeared that hope had been crushed.

* * *

Blaise didn't stay long after the Healer's arrival. He had a family of his own to take care of- with another child apparently on the way- and could not be kept in Malfoy Manor all day. Draco bid him goodbye before making his way to the dining room. It was here that he could find traces of his wife.

She was always leaving things around for the house elves to do; after their fight, Draco had told them to not pick up anything of hers, he would personally take care of it. One of her silk robes lay on the table, probably where she had left it when she started taking things off, revealing what little she had on underneath to the newest bloke she brought home. Stilettos sat on the floor beside his chair, and he could only roll his eyes. Astoria has certainly been a character.

Two wine glasses sat unfinished on the table, meaning the elves had really headed his words. Red lipstick stuck to the side of one glass, the same color she had been wearing the night everything went from bad to worse. The other glass was completely empty.

He turned away trudging along through the dining room into the kitchens. It was rare for the Malfoy's to venture into places like the kitchens, but Draco had been breaking that rule since he got married. He needed the kitchens, because he liked getting his alcohol personally. He ignored the house elves as he passed to get himself another bottle, and didn't spare them a glance on the way out either.

It seemed like he didn't spend the time to glance at anything these days. It started ages before Scorpius got hurt, back when he and Astoria's fights started getting violent and things would get broken. She would scream at him for breaking something, and he would retaliate with the lack of commitment, and then he would walk like a zombie through his home, trying not to notice the little things, like the items in the kitchen. She probably never loved him to begin with; he certainly never felt anything for her.

But now it was worse. Looking around, he could see the ghosts of what she had left behind, the items he had yet to burn, and the toys his son had left out still littering the floor. Everything he had touched that day like it was any other, and none of them had known and been able to prepare for the onslaught of terror that would happen later that night. He refused to let the elves remove these either, because he wanted something to look at, something that was familiar.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't see the Healer's leaving, nor notice that he was going to hit them until he bumped into Granger, who in return nearly slipped on a toy behind her. He did nothing to help her regain her balance.

She whipped her head around to yell at him for being so rude, but something in his eyes stopped her. The destroyed, sad little soul that lingered there forced her to say something else; "There are a lot of toys lying around here."

"Yes, there are," he replied, noticing that her partner was giving the pair strange looks. "Perhaps you should watch your step."

Hermione nodded slowly, fighting down the words that wanted to escape her mouth; the insults that were natural. "I will."

Adam cleared his throat, and the two uneasy adults turned to look at him. He was still fixing them with an odd look. "Come on Hermione; we have to go."

"Yes," she replied, nodding. She turned to Malfoy, reminding herself to be professional. Why did she have to remind herself when she should be able to do it with the same easy grace that she insulted him? "We might actually have something to tell you about tomorrow Malfoy." She gave him a smile that was supposed to be kind, but she knew looked a bit pained. She couldn't help it; it was hard to be cordial with this man.

He nodded. "Good," he replied, although his voice came across more timid than anything. Of course he was afraid of that; he had every right to be. What if they planned to tell him something that only made the situation seem worse?

They said their goodbyes, and Draco watched the pair leave, the gears in his mind spinning the whole time. Why couldn't they have told him now?

* * *

It was late that night when Hermione returned home. After having to speak with her boss, she had met up with Ginny for a late dinner since Harry and Ron were training new Aurors again tonight. Their conversation had been short, primarily focusing on the baby Ginny had just discovered she was going to have. Hermione tried to hide her jealousy, but it still came out, and dinner became awkward; she wanted a family of her own too.

Back in her apartment now she hurried around, searching for the envelope she had stored away. She needed to send the money again, and although she had just been able to scrape enough money to send the payment again this month, she had no idea how she planned to pay her rent. It was going to be another month of stretching her money thin.

She sighed when she had it all counted. There was just enough, but she would need to send it off quickly. They had been badgering her for payments lately and she was already two months behind again. Soon she would lose her place if she kept this up, and that would be horrible.

At least she was accomplishing her goal; after everything, she couldn't lose them too. Standing, she found another envelope and stuffed the money inside; tomorrow before she returned to the Manor she would have to take the payment over there. It might make her late and Adam would question her, but at least it would be done. Maybe if they didn't stay too long tomorrow she could visit them as well. That would be nice.

She clutched the letter in her hand. No one- not even her friends- knew her burden, no one understood why she worked such long, demanding hours for such little money when it appeared that she should be perfectly fine doing less hours and still be able to live. But that wasn't the case; she had to help another live, and that required her to support two lives.

Why else would she never take a holiday?


	4. The Little Girl

**A/n: **Hello again readers! Here's another update, and I hope you enjoy. Keep those reviews up because I really appriciate them and any insight you have can help me guide this story down the right path. I don't want it to stray! Thanks again to my beta's **JDeppIsMyLovely **and** Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Little Girl**

She was late. When this Adam fellow arrived, Draco duly noted the absence of his co-worker. When asked where the girl was, Adam had shrugged, explaining that he had absolutely no idea, but that their boss might just kill her. The blond had only rolled his eyes at that. Served her right; she should be able to come to work on time after all. The girl had been punctual most of the time in school, when she wasn't getting herself into trouble with those two buffoons.

"She will be here soon though, I am sure," Adam Lincoln said, nodding towards Draco. The blond just rolled his eyes at the prick's proper attitude, turning back again to drink more from his glass. He had actually bothered to pour himself a drink today instead of drinking straight from the bottle. He found it quite irritating.

"Of course she will be," he muttered.

"In the meantime Mr. Malfoy," Adam continued, pulling on his collar nervously. The blond looked back, raising an eyebrow as the man looked around with concern. "There is something I have needed to speak to you about."

"And you choose to do this when Granger is not around? Interesting." The git sounded bored.

Adam sighed, knowing he would notice this detail. It wasn't that Hermione was bad, but he knew she was taking this case very close to heart, and didn't want to bring up anything terrible in the witch's presence. "I was told that it might be better to speak of it without her here, but do not tell her I said that." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a roll of parchment, and now he knew he had the blonde's full attention.

"What is that?"

The Healer took a breath. "This is a document my advisor, Franklin Williams, gave to me. It's a list of precautious you are supposed to be taking, as well as several suggestions that he thinks you should consider concerning your son."

Draco stood up quickly, snatching the parchment from the man's hands. "No oaf from St. Mungo's is going to advise me on anything concerning my son," he bit out, wandering around the space as he undid the letter. He was in no mood to read the opinions of people who did nothing more than sit behind a desk and advise others about what they thought should be the next step in situations that they have never personally dealt with.

He was about to unfold the letter when his Floo roared to life a second time and none other than the Hermione Granger jumped out, looking stressed and tired. He cringed at the hideous attire she was wearing, as well as the smudge of dirt on her cheek.

"Glad to see you can actually make it to your job at all Granger," he snapped, drawing her attention as she dusted herself off. Adam had been prepared to say something to her before the blond aristocrat beat him to it.

She pointedly ignored him, scurrying across the room to stand beside Adam as she retied the back of the muggle shirt she wore. "I'm sorry," she breathed, attempting to not drop the rugged, worn handbag as she finished trying to make herself presentable. Up close both men could note that the small mark that appeared to be a smudge was truly a faint, oddly shaped bruise. "I had to take care of something, and it ran late so I had to-"

"Hermione," Adam cut in, rubbing his temples, "Save it. Whatever your reason for being late is, I honestly don't care. But don't allow it to happen again."

The blond inclined pale eyebrows at this, having expected the pair to be close friends before him. But the sudden hostility Adam Lincoln was showing towards the brunette seemed to demolish that possibility. Were they friends, she may have looked hurt by his coldness, but the former Gryffindor extraordinaire only sighed and fixed her hair back into a messy up do.

"Are you ready then?" her partner continued, crossing toned arms. He looked on edge, and as the blond reached for his bottle again he pondered why. This was not a Ministry job, they did not have to check in and out at certain points, so why he was so horribly concerned with her lack of proper timing was beyond Draco. He watched his former classmate roll large almond eyes as she walked closer to Lincoln. With a nod, the man turned back to address the property owner.

"It seems that we have finally collected ourselves. We will just go on our way to see your son. Do look at those notes Mr. Williams wrote to you Mr. Malfoy, for you might find some of them rather useful." The dynamic change in Adam's composure was obvious, and as he turned to head in the direction of Scorpius's room it was not lost to Hermione how his pleasant composure quickly dropped back to the look of annoyance and disappointment he had directed at her the moment she arrived. It was going to be a long day at work.

As the duo turned to head down the darkened halls of his Manor, Draco refocused his attention. The letter was now open, but he did not feel inclined to take the contents out. He knew it would put him in a sour mood, and at this early into the daylight hours that was not something he wanted to experience. Grabbing the throat of the bottle, he took a long swig of its contents. If he must read this, he would do so under whatever influence he chose.

Content with the burning sensation that was eating at his throat, he took the letter out to examine.

_To Mr. Draco L. Malfoy~_

_It is with deepest regards that I send this letter. The Healer's here at St. Mungo's have been examining and speculating the case concerning your young offspring, Scorpius Malfoy, and after many hours of research I believe it is time I break the news to you. So far, all of my Healers have been unable to come to a conclusion about just what brought harm to your son. There have been many speculations, some more widespread than others, but none of which anyone can agree on. Until we truly know what this is, we can only go through a series of different treatments to help your son during this time. I have listed below a number of things for you to consider, all of which could be in your son's best interest._

_In regard to the teeth and talons, we have come to the executive decision that you can bring Scorpius in for Solar Treatment, something that we often use on people bitten by Werewolves. This treatment is only used when a transformation is not complete, and although we know it is not a werewolf attack that is now plaguing your son, this is the best solution we have to help him remove the offending additions to his body. Whatever has brought harm to him is uncommon, and this is the closest match we can come to. _

_In regard to the anger tendencies and the number of harmful attacks that have been administered to the Healer's, we ask you again to consider the use of supplements like morphine to reduce the likeliness that harm will be done to those who are coming to help your son. We understand that this is not the ideal position for a parent to be in, but less and less Healers wish to come and examine the patient due to the way their colleges return. Mr. Lincoln and Miss Granger are exceptions, for both of them requested this patient to try and further their medical knowledge and careers- although I am also aware that Miss Granger requested this placement as well because she pitied your son, so in the future do have empathy for her, for the brightest witch in Britain did not have to choose to help with this at all. _

_I would also like to suggest something to you Mr. Malfoy. Your son was attacked in the forest outside your home, a place many know so little about. I understand that you do not often venture there yourself, but the amount of land there is massive, and something that could provide a lot of answers to those trying to find solutions to what has happened could reside in there. I ask your permission to alert some of the finest Aurors to search through the space for any hostile creatures that may lurk in the dark. If something is found, it could shed quite a bit of light on this entire ordeal. Until we can locate whatever has caused this unusual phenomenon we cannot fully help Scorpius. We want to do everything in our power to help; we just need the ability to. Please understand that I do not suggest this option to invade your privacy, but instead to help you out in the long run. We only seek to heal him. _

_Please owl me with your thoughts on this. The sooner I can get Aurors into the forest behind your Manor the better._

_Deepest Regards-_

_Frank M. Williams_

He clutched the letter, resisting the urge to tear it apart. He did not like the tone this man used, as though he thought that Draco himself did not have his son's best interests in mind. The nerve! He would not be paying that damn hospital large quantities of money a day to send in experts to examine his son for changes at home. It was a costly ordeal that he gladly paid for, and the man had no reason to bitch. He was receiving additional sums of money for two bloody Healer's- a figure that was not too large to be acceptable. He was not stealing away every worker in that facility, so the man had no reason to complain.

He reread the letter. So Williams wanted to send people in to inspect the woods behind this historic place? As if! He knew those woods better than any outsider could- granted his knowledge was extremely limited- but he would not have Ministry workers picking around in his private property. Why would he ever have allowed this to begin with?

Draco grit his teeth. Denying the man the ability to send people over would mean that he was offering himself up for the task. It was obvious that something needed to be done, that they needed to discover just what had done this, and the answers obviously lay somewhere in there. But the problem was that he had no desire to enter that place again. He could see the horrors of that place in his own home, laid out on the bed that once housed an innocent child. That child was now fighting off the monster within that wanted to take over, and he could not be more proud of his son for remaining so strong throughout this. Now if only he could tell him that.

Sitting, he placed his head in his hands. He would respond of course to this irritable man and tell him exactly what he planned to do, clearly stating that under no circumstances was he going to allow Williams to contact Aurors and send them in. This was his property, he would handle it himself. As for the Solar Treatment, he would have to think on that. It was an unusual type of treatment, and it meant that they were taking chances. But chances with his son's well-being was something he had to think about. Only as a last resort would he submit Scorpius to that pain.

Rubbing his temples, he reached for his drink again. He needed his little boy back, and he was going to have to make some tough decisions to get that to be a reality.

But how hard would they be in the long run? He took a big swig of his drink; that was not something he wanted to focus on just yet. Not until he had to.

* * *

"It's not getting any better, despite the medication and potions he is on," Hermione noted, wandering around the bed for a second time. Adam was brooding on the opposite side, glaring at her as she spoke. "If we up them too much though he will be a zombie when he awakens."

She jolted something down in her notebook, glancing up at him as she wrote. "What?"

"Why are you so late today Hermione?" he asked, leaning forwards a bit. The body of the angry boy twisted between them, but neither Healer was close enough to be harmed.

She narrowed her eyes. "That really has nothing to do with you." They had talked about this before at St. Mungo's when she would arrive late to shifts she had with him. She knew Adam was very prompt about timing and did not tolerate people who could not be there when expected, but his rudeness was bothersome. So he was angry; he didn't have to bite at her.

"It does when you arrive late in front of a client," he snapped in return. "Your history is already awful with Draco Malfoy, and being late will do nothing to strengthen that bond. If you cannot be prompt-"

"Being on time is not the entire job," she retorted, straightening her shirt again. The clothing she had hastily thrown on was not the best to work in, and she often spotted Adam giving her looks between their arguments whenever she undid her Healer robes to straighten herself out. "I am a high ranking Healer, and that is why I was allowed to come onto this case. You act as though I have done something horrible to your reputation by being a few scarce minutes late. Will you drop it already? No one is perfect all the time."

During her talk he had walked around the bed, coming to stand at her side. She flinched lightly as his hand came to lie over the small bruise she had picked up on her way to work that morning. "Perhaps it's because you showed up looking ruffled and worn, or maybe it's because you're bruised? This isn't the first time you've shown up to work like this Granger; you've done it before, at St. Mungos. Do you have an explanation as to why you show up like this sometimes?"

She shoved his hand away. "Like I have said, it's none of your concern. We are only work partners, and what I do with my personal life doesn't bother you." She moved away from him, going back to their reason for being here.

"I'm only wondering what problems you encounter outside of this place."

Hermione didn't respond, just kept watching Scorpius. They needed to make some progress soon or these private everyday visits would be pulled. And besides, she was not about to tell Lincoln about her personal life. There were reasons she evaded his questions.

After studying a few minutes, the same idea was echoing in her mind again; vampires. She had been reading at home, trying to decide what to do about her thoughts. Adam had made a good point the last time she had brought it up that she needed something to back up her idea, but reading would only get her so far. She needed something new- something ancient that could possibly help her get more evidence on those elusive creatures. But how?

_But of course… where am I right now? This is Malfoy Manor- a tomb of ancient literature is just down the hall! If there is something anywhere to back up my theory, then it would be there!_ Straightening quickly, she shut her notebook, causing Adam to pay her some attention once more.

"What are you doing?"

"I've had an idea," she said quickly, shoving her things into her worn handbag. "I'll just be off to talk to Malfoy, it shouldn't take long-"

"Hermione, don't bother that man again. Don't you think his thoughts are twisted enough? He doesn't need any more problems raining down on him. Leave the man be. Whatever questions you have for him can wait until another day. I gave him the letter from Mr. Williams, and I doubt he is in any mood to chat."

The brunette was shaking her head long before he finished speaking. "I won't be discussing hardly anything with him really, I only have a question."

"A question that can wait-"

"This one can't," she cried, hurrying from the room. If Adam was going to argue with her, it was the type of discussion that would last for hours. She didn't have the time to argue with him all night long, and quickly made her run for the door. He didn't pursue her, and she made it out the door easily enough. Behind her she could hear his exasperated sigh, but didn't dwell on it. He was a skeptic about her idea anyways.

What she found in the living room was quite the oddity. There stood Malfoy, a bottle in his hand, his arms crossed, speaking to a very young child who had her fists balled up like she planned to attack the six-foot giant. Her first reaction was to wonder where in Merlin's name the girl had come from.

"I want to see Scorpius," she cried, stamping a foot. Guessing off no more than her size and actions, Hermione assumed the girl was no more than four or five. Considering she was asking for Malfoy's son indicated that she was also probably his friend. The girl took a step back into the shadows so she would not be noticed and turned her head, attempting to give the pair some privacy.

"I've already seen you Granger," the blond drawled, catching her off guard. She peered over at the pair again to see that the blond had taken a seat on his sofa once more, the angry little child still trying to glare him down. Throwing away the idea of giving them privacy, she began walking towards the two, finding them a very peculiar spectacle to watch. So peculiar in fact, that she began pondering whose child this was. She certainly bore no resemblance to Malfoy.

"Now Lizzy," the man continued, leaning forward towards the child, He set his bottle down, giving the girl a meaningful look. "Do your parents know you are here?"

"Uncle Draco," she complained, rolling her deep brown eyes. In the light Hermione could see that her hair was a perfectly sleek black bob, which bore the resemblance of a former classmate. "Of course they don't! They were being big meanies telling me I couldn't come see Scorpius, and now you are being a big meanie too!"

Draco graced his face with a smile, but Hermione saw right through the mask. It was plastic, put on only to make the child believe that things were alright. "Scorpius isn't quite well right now Lizzy," he said, brushing hairs from the side of the child's still chubby face, "And I don't think he will be able to play with you for a while. He's really sick you see, and he needs rest."

The little girl seemed horrified at this revelation. "Well what are you doing in here," she asked, throwing her hands up. Instantly, one locked onto his much larger wrist, and he began her feeble attempt to pull him in the general direction of Scorpius's room again. "We should go and be with him! Are you giving him sweets? He loves sweets. And why are you sitting on the couch Uncle? You should be buying him something- or reading a story to him!"

Hermione watched the perfectly placed mask on the blond's face collapse. This little girl- this friend of Malfoy's son- wanted to go and do all the things that were not allowed. She had seen so many parents long to comfort their children and be by their sides throughout her work, and in this case that was not possible. The scenario Scorpius Malfoy currently found himself in was hardly appropriate for sweets or story time, and the little girl had just opened up a fresh wound with those words. Malfoy's son was in pain, and he was nearly helpless to do anything to ease the ache in his chest.

She could almost pity him in that moment as his defenses slowly collapsed all because of a young child. Deciding it was time to intervene, she stepped forward and knelt beside the pair, slowly pulling the girl's hand away from Malfoy's. "Are you a friend of Scorpius'?" she asked kindly, although she could already guess that answer.

The young child gave her an odd look, as though analyzing whether or not she should answer. "I am his bestest friend, thank you."

"I can tell," Hermione continued, giving her a soft smile. "Do you know who I am?"

"No."

"I'm a Healer," she said, sitting flat on her bottom as she continued to speak to the anxious girl. "My name's Hermione-"

The girl's face immediately twisted. "Granger? You're a Mudblood!"

There went the brunette's urge to comfort. The small child's retaliation to simply her name was like a slap in the face. Here she was trying to be nice, and even a four year old was already tainted by the disgusting Pureblood racism. She scoffed, ready to stand up; Malfoy could handle this rude girl all on his own. But as she made to stand up a powerful grip forced her back down. Glancing over at the blond at her side, she was stunned he had the courage to touch someone like her without the fear of _germs._

"Don't be rude Lizzy," he scolded, and she had to do a double take. Since when did he stand up for her, ever? "This is Healer Granger; she is going to help Scorpius get better. You will be nice to her."

The child's eyes widened. "But Uncle Draco! Mommy said-"

"Your mother doesn't dictate what I say goes on in my house," he said, giving the child a hard look. It wasn't cold, and from her position Hermione could tell her was repressing emotions, but it was enough to get the message clearly through. "You won't be mean to Healer Granger."

Slowly, the stubborn girl nodded- just once. She looked put off by her uncle's statement, and Hermione was left to wonder what these so-called parents of Lizzy's were saying behind Hermione's own back.

"Can we go see Scorpius now?" she pouted, crossing her arms.

"Not today," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "Your parents are going to have a fit that you're missing, and he needs more rest."

"But he needs stories and sweets-"

The blond reached over, pressing a finger to the girl's lips. "I will give him all of those things just as soon as I can, I promise." The girl didn't look convinced by his words anymore, but nodded reluctantly in defeat. "Now should we floo your parents?"

The child shook her head quickly. "No! They didn't want me to come here."

"With good reason," he sighed. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced awkwardly at Hermione. Her eyebrows shot up, wondering what the look on his face implied. "Lizzy," he said at length, leaning towards the child again, "Why don't you go off to the dining room and get some food to pass the time since we can't see Scorpius tonight?"

The girl crossed her arms and pouted, but nonetheless turned and started off in what Hermione decided had to be the direction of the dining hall. When she was gone, Malfoy's composure quickly deteriorated. "Thank you for playing along Granger. I don't know how to begin explaining what has happened to such a small child."

"I wouldn't expect you to. I would likely have to hex you if you told that little girl the truth. It would just give her nightmares. And by the way Malfoy, who is she?"

He sighed, rubbing his chin slowly. "She's my mate Blaise's daughter. He married Pansy Parkinson you know. Lizzy- Elizabeth- is my son's best friend. It doesn't surprise me that she knew something was wrong, only that she was able to sneak over here." He shook his head. "I can't leave while you and your easily-angered co-worker are here, so I'll just Floo Blaise to come get her." He started over to the fireplace, calling back over his shoulder, "Oh, and Granger? If you could, please keep this between us. Your partner is a bit odd."

She didn't exactly know what to think about Malfoy wanting her to keep a secret for him, but she wasn't about to argue. Clearing her throat, she decided to use this moment to her advantage. "Of course Malfoy- but on one condition."

He glanced over his shoulder at this, eyes narrowed, the bottle still in his hand. "What is that Granger?"

"I need to use your library. I feel that I might be able to discover some answers in there if I can find the right tomes."

"And what exactly are those _tomes?_" he inquired, giving her his full attention once more. He crossed his arms over his chest as he faced her, waiting for a reply. She knew he was going to demand the details to this.

She pursed her lips. "When I figure out if I am right about this or not Malfoy, I'll let you know." His face screwed up a bit at that, perplexed.

_What exactly are you thinking about Granger?_


	5. The Library

**A/n:** It's been a good while since I updated this story. I'm so sorry! I actually go to my boyfriends house now and use his computer to write because I had to sell mine amongst other things due to financial issues. Basically, I don't have access to laptops as much anymore and updates might be infrequent. At this point I'm not sure how long it will be between updates but please know I won't be giving up this story. The more stories I get out of the way, the more I can work on this one as well.

This has been a work in progress for a while and I finally finished it. If you are still reading please let me know through a review so I know everyone's thoughts on progression. Hopefully in the next couple months I'll be able to dedicate a lot more to this story and make it fantastic, because so far I feel like it's not as fabulous as it should be. Thanks again to my amazing betas **JDeppIsMyLovely **and **Tessa Cresswell**! **not yet edited.

* * *

**The Library**

Hermione Granger was an exceptionally intelligent person. She knew Draco Malfoy was going to start spewing questions at her long before he opened his mouth again.

"That's not going to work for me Granger," he said, shaking his head once. "You're asking permission to use my _ancestral _library, so you should at least be able to tell me what you are searching for. You are here on a job, not a pleasure trip. Unless this pertains to my son you will not be getting near any of those books."

She narrowed her eyes at the prick. "I have no plans to go searching through there unless it's because I need to research elements of what your son has b-picked up." She corrected her wording quickly, glad she had not uttered the word become when the blonde's eyes flashed. Besides that, she was lying through her teeth now. Of _course_ she would look around, if only for a moment. "The topic I am concerning myself with is one that very little research has been done on, and hopefully the ancient volumes within your personal collection can supply some of the answers I am seeking."

"Oh," Draco said, cocking an eyebrow now. "And I will repeat myself Granger; what are you looking up? It has to be quite a unique theory for there to be so little valuable information on the subject. What do you think my son has? What is your theory?"

Hermione groaned, rubbing her temples If she started rattling off things then he would quite possibly deem her a basket case and unfit to continue on in this case- for really, who was going to believe her when she declared that Scorpius had been bitten by a vampire?

"Let me find some decent research and documentations on the subject first, and then I will present you with my idea."

"You don't think your theory is believable without research, even to the likes of me," Draco mocked, staring at her, looking for answers in brown depths that he couldn't read.

"No," she snapped, "I just think that it will be more believable if I have proof to back it up. This is something no one has ever really seen before-"

"Don't remind me," he hissed, and she flinched slightly at his tone. She had forgotten that he was hurting due to this, due to the phenomenon that had overtaken his only son.

"Sorry," the brunette replied, looking away. "I just think more people will listen to my idea if I have something to prove it with. Even you Malfoy- as you so kindly pointed out- will likely listen to me more if I have something worthwhile to show. Now will you please show me the way to your library? The faster I can obtain my information the sooner I can start trying to solve the issue, if this is indeed correct."

"If," the blonde muttered, the word stuck in his mind. There were so many if's in this equation lately. He didn't like that there was nothing concrete, nothing surefire that would heal his son soon. He was tired of these people coming into his home all the time, and just wanted his little boy back the way he was. But even if it had to be Granger who shined some light on the issue, he would be thankful. This had been going on for a bit now, and it ripped at his heartstrings all the time. He hated going into the bedroom after the Healer's left and staring on at his boy. Whatever had done this to him would pay- for this was not a human attack, it had to of come through something with animal instincts.

"I'll let you use the library Granger, but don't touch anything that isn't necessary." He stepped closer to her. "And you better find something out in there."

Nodding, she waited for him to show her the way. Without a word the blonde turned his back and headed off in the same direction the young girl had gone off in. They walked the length of a decorated hallway and rounded a corner, stopping in front of a set of double doors. She expected him to simply push the doors open, but that didn't happen. Instead he pulled out his wand and said something in French, something she did not understand. Only then did the doors open, bolts having been keeping them shut somehow.

"Afraid of being robbed," she mocked, glancing sideways at him. He just glared at her.

"I'm afraid of nosy, know-it-all bookworms going in there without permission," he bit back, beckoning with his hand. "Well, go on. The room won't bite any more than I will."

If that was his comparison, then she was indeed afraid. Nonetheless she pushed her way in, gawking at the site before her. It really reminded her of the library in Beauty and the Beast, only this one had a staircase that led downstairs into what she assumed was another section of the library.

"Literature, spell books, myths, it's all here Granger," he called from behind her, knowing she wasn't going to turn and look at him. "That stand in the middle is the archive, and will tell you where each type of book is located. If you really have a problem finding something, go downstairs to the old library. It's not very well organized, and I never frequent there, but that's where the oldest tombs are. If you use those, I do ask that you don't destroy them."

She only nodded, still spinning in circles. She could live in there forever and be happy, but this was not a pleasure trip- as the blonde had said. She had one purpose for being there, and no matter how much she wanted to waste time and look through there just to see what the Malfoy's had, she knew a little boy's life was at stake and couldn't sacrifice that for her curiousity. Glancing in the blonde's direction, she nodded again.

"Thank you for letting me use this."

He seemed a little startled at her sincerity, but didn't argue with her words. Instead of replying, he nodded in return and turned around, unable to look at her again.

"Take your time. If you find something of use, let me know and I may let you in again. Please don't take anything home with you- because the library will alert me that the book has left the premises of the Manor and I will hunt you down Granger."

She rolled her eyes, having known he wouldn't stay calm for long. "Of course."

He nodded once more, and left, pulling the door behind him. He didn't shut it all the way and just left it cracked. He would go and see her later.

* * *

Draco was true to his word, and after leaving Hermione to destroy the books in his library- and going against everything his family stood for by letting a Mudblood use it- he made for his room. It took more than a bit of effort on his part to walk to the closet and pull out his old Quidditch broom, something he had not used in a long time.

_I haven't used this since I took Scorpius over the forest, filling his head with all those stories. I'm such a fool, putting those thoughts into his mind. He's just like I was as a boy, ready for adventure to come his way. And what better place than a place filled with monsters? This is_ _all my fault. _

He didn't want to go flying, he really didn't. But he thought the broom might come in handy in case he needed a quick getaway. Shrinking the item down to fit into his pocket, he hid it away and took a deep breath. Circe, he was so unlike himself the last several days it was ridiculous.

What did people expect though, for him to be calm? How was he to be calm if his life continued spiraling out of control? He didn't understand.

Frank William's stated in his letter that he wanted to send the Ministry Auror's into the woods behind his house, but Draco wouldn't allow that. By denying the officials the right to search his property, he was basically nominating himself for the job. It was not a job he wanted- it wasn't something he had ever imagined himself doing- but it was necessary. Whatever hurt his son lurked in the shadows of the woods, and he intended to figure out what it was.

It was just going to take a long time to do so. But he was up for the task. He would do anything in the world to save his son's life, and get him back to the same, charming little boy he had been. He didn't deserve to have parental figures that couldn't stop arguing with each other no matter what day it was, nor did he need to hear them screaming the things they did. When Scorpius got healed, he was going to make all those things right.

There was no room for ifs.

A knock on his door drew his attention, and a flick of his wand shut the large closet before he looked back at his door. "Come in."

Blaise appeared then, shoving the door open lightly. He looked irritated, and gripping his right hand was the form of Lizzy, who would not look up at either adult. Obviously between the time that he followed Granger and the time he sent Lizzy away, the elves alerted the Zabini's of their daughter's whereabouts, and the parents were none too happy with her.

"I'm sorry my daughter is being such a nuisance," he said, glaring at the little girl's head. Some screaming must've been involved, and when she glanced up through the bangs of her black bob Draco could see the glint of tears on her cheeks. Poor thing, but he couldn't exactly pity her. She did decide to disobey her parents.

"It's understandable," he replied, clasping his friends shoulder once, "She only wanted to ensure that Scorpius is alright."

The Italian's face paled a bit. "You didn't let her see him, did you?" he asked in a low voice. A shake of the blonde's head calmed his nerves, and the color returned to his face. "I was hoping not."

"No one should see that," he muttered quietly. Zabini picked up on the man's tone, and knew that they needed to speak. Letting go of his daughter's hand, he glanced down at her, "Lizzy, since you like to act like such a big girl take the floo home. I'm certain you're mother has a few words for you as well."

"But mommy will scream at me more," she replied, looking up at her father. "Please don't send me back."

"Oh no," Blaise replied, shaking his head. "You broke the rules and you know you're in trouble, so get on home. Make sure you say the Zabini Mansion though, not 'home'."

The girl nodded slowly, obviously distraught that she would have to return. Walking away from the two men, she made her way to Draco's private floo and reached for some floo powder, but the container rested to high above her head. Taking some pity on his poor kid, Blaise handed some powder to her, and off she went."

"You really trust your four-year-old daughter to floo alone?"

"Not one bit, but I told her mother that I would be sending her back that way, and to wait. She'll help direct her home without any problems."

"She got here by herself."

"Yes," Blaise said with a roll of his eyes, "And that was a problem, wasn't it? I swear, that child is going to be a handful when she gets older."

"She's a handful now," he replied, sitting on his bed. The Italian watched his friends calm exterior slowly melt away, and the face of a scared human replaced the expression. Malfoy had always been an excellent actor in school, but in the company of those he valued the most he would sometimes let his real emotions show through, and in times like this it worried Blaise when he kept the mask up too long. He needed a break too, and he did not need to be so strong day in, day out. Scorpius might now even recognize his father, much less look up to him whenever he entered the bedroom. He knew that the blonde went to visit his son each night, and each night he got his heart torn to pieces when the being on the bed did not register him, didn't even act like his son. Blaise couldn't imagine what it was like to experience that kind of pain.

He sat down in a nearby chair, folding his fingers together as he looked on at the blonde. "How are you holding up?"

"Not as good as I should," he muttered, snapping his fingers. The bedside table drawer flew open at the action, and from within flew a bottle of vodka, one which landed in the blonde's hand. The drawer closed itself as he reached up to open the drink, and took a long swig of the liquid before looking back at his friends. "My habits aren't improving."

"I see."

"I think they get worse the worse Scorpius gets," he said quietly. "I can't bear to look at him this way."

"It will get better though Draco," the Italian replied. "You know that. You constantly have people here checking up on your son."

He scoffed. "Yes, I supposedly have two_ high ranking _Healer's here helping me, when in reality I think one of them is an absolute idiot and an arse, and the other is Granger."

"Really? They sent Potter's friend of all people here?"

Draco shrugged. "She's highly recommended; unsurprisingly good at her job, as if Granger would let herself be bad at something. No one has really had any idea what's going on yet with my son, but she at least has a theory.

Blaise quirked an eyebrow. "And what is that?"

"I don't know she won't let on until she has some backup or something to prove to people that it's a possibility. She's down in the library now digging through pages trying to discover what she can about… whatever she is looking for. She seems pretty driven with her idea."

"I'm surprised you let her use your library. Couldn't she have used a local one?"

The blonde shrugged. "She seems to be having a hard time finding trustworthy information about whatever this topic is, which doesn't make me feel too good. If she's having doubts, then that doesn't usually mean anything good. I almost wonder if she is wasting my time with this unknown possibility."

"Well, you're never going to know if you don't give her a chance. Granger was brilliant in school, and of course she is good at her job. Give her some time to do her apparent research, and see what she can dig up."

"You think it's worth it?"

Blaise shrugged. "You'll never know unless you give her a chance. She kept those idiot friends of hers alive for years I'm sure she can save your son."

Draco thought that was an excellent point, but after the minimal progress he had seen from anyone concerning this case, he wasn't so sure he believed that Granger could truly help his son.

* * *

Her head hurt.

It was like this topic didn't exist in the magical world. During the summers she spent with her parents as a child, she read all the famous vampire books that flawked the shelves of bookstores, all of which had ridiculous topics that no one would ever believe. But fantasy was something she could rarely convince herself to read, and that was the only mythical topic she could ever tolerate. Knowing that werewolves existed after third year ruined the ridiculous ideas that books like Twilight worked to create, and the way they were portrayed in so many books was just wrong. Vampires however were different, for people knew so little about them that no one was even sure they had existed. There were myths surrounding their existence, but she had searched through titles so far ranging from _"Creatures of the Night"_ to _"To Death with Them"_ and wasn't quite sure yet if anything she found would back up her claims for Scorpius Malfoy. These were books written by dreamers, not scientists or spell masters. If she used this to help support her ideas, no one would believe her.

The books did however provide some interesting background information. The decorated, beautified versions of vampires that were meant to seduce the living did not match the definition of what was happening to the youngest Malfoy one bit; eyes that burned gold, fangs that appeared only at the "vampire" teeth, these were not the same physical features Malfoy's son had adopted, and she was beginning to give up on her idea entirely until she began searching for older volumes.

There she found things that seemed similar; long talons, fangs that not long appear at the "Vampire" teeth but also at the canines in the back. The last time she studied the boy's mouth with Adam, they had discovered that interesting tidbit. One book stuck out to her, _"The Contributions to a Blood-Drinking Killer",_ written by an anonymous writer who was obviously not a scientist from the muggle world, nor a professor of any sort in the magical. The information might all be fake, but it was so close to the physical attributes Scorpius had that it was scary. She couldn't ignore the similarities.

Aside from the teeth, he also had the uncontrollable fits of rage and possible inability to talk. He only snapped at people, and never uttered a word, which was so like the vampires from the book that it was alarming. The book however referenced a tomb she had not collected during her search of the higher bookshelves, one with a French title. This would be a concern since she was not bilingual.

It didn't stop her from searching for it. Another quick investigation of the same high shelves she had been exploring confirmed that this book was not up there, and she assumed- and hoped- that it lay in the basement part of the library, the only place she had not yet searched for fear of getting too lost in her own fantasies about the old books. She pushed those worries aside though to wander to the entrance, taking a breath. It wasn't scary, but it would be a stretch to keep her from living down there.

As expected, the books were covered in an ungodly layer of dust and stacked to the brim. The name of the book lay scribbled on a small piece of paper in her palm, waiting to be inspected. She searched through the titles of the first three rows of books- all of which were not in alphabetical nor yearly order- and came up with nothing. The process took a good half hour of bending over, rubbing at the dusty spines to see the titles. There were many titles in foreign languages, and a part of her wondered if Malfoy could even read those.

After the fourth row, she moved back and sat against the wall, letting her body sink. It wasn't necessarily a hard process, but it made her back sore.

"Worn out already?" She jumped at the voice, having been too lost in her search to notice much of anything. Flipping her head, she spotted Malfoy walking towards her, looking unusually dirty.

She scurried back to her feet, unwilling to listen to his shit if he started complaining about her resting on the job. "Just thinking," she lied, turning to the fifth row. She missed his eye roll, but his continual presence on the scene after her response made her curious.

"Something I can help you with?"

"I came to check on your progress, and instead found twenty or so books stacked in different areas of the library. I just assumed you had come down here, else left."

Hermione scoffed. "I wouldn't leave in the middle of my job Malfoy. This is just as much a part of my work as inspecting your son; without proper research we will never get anywhere."

"And how is that research going? Find anything useful?"

Although his tone came out as a disinterested drawl, she got the feeling he was secretly eager for her to say yes. Why wouldn't he be, considering she was searching to his dilemma. "Maybe," she replied, pausing in her haphazard dusting. "I was reading something upstairs that seemed a bit useful, but it referenced me to a French book that I haven't been able to locate it yet."

"What's it called?"

Unable to pronounce the title, she handed him the slip of parchment she had copied the title onto. He looked at it for a moment, frowned, and then turned to walk four rows down before turning out of her vision. She followed, curious now.

Without even looking at the title, he reached into the land of books and pulled out a thick tomb, one that appeared to be on the verge of falling to pieces. He placed it carefully in his hands before blowing on the cover to remove some of the dust- cringing as the specs took to the air and shown in the dim light- before using the sleeve of his robes to clean it off better.

"You speak French, Granger?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. He said this area wasn't organized, so how did he find the volume so quickly. "I wanted to see if I could locate it before I bothered trying to read it."

"And how do you propose to do that if you don't speak the language?"

He was looking at her now, emotion masked behind steely grey eyes. Now she wasn't sure if he was curious or irritated about the search. "I would need to find someone that speaks French then."

The blonde arched an eyebrow at her. "And why don't you just ask me then? They are my books Granger, the ancient volumes that linger here are mostly written in French, German or Russian, all of which I can read. Why would I own books if I could not read them?"

She shrugged sheepishly, unsure what to say. "I wasn't sure if you even came down here. The dust down here is pretty thick Malfoy; I expected you would at least torment the house elves into cleaning this area, since it is part of the Manor. You Malfoy's have always had this seemingly odd fetish with keeping things immaculate."

His expression darkened, and he moved to slip the book beneath his arm, shoving past her. "I don't allow the elves to come down here Granger."

Hurrying to follow him, she opened her mouth with a rebut before slamming it shut. She let his comment sit in her mind, turning his words over twice. If he didn't let the elves down there, why did he permit her access? Did he give her free reign because he thought she might actually find something? She wasn't sure.

Back in the main library, he wandered to the table she had occupied, sitting down in the chair she had originally left to hold her bag; now that sat on the floor, rudely discarded for the git's bum. She flicked her wand and picked the items up again before moving to the opposite chair.

"What are you looking for in this?" he asked, placing the book directly in front of her. She wasn't quite sure what exactly the book was about yet, but she could see in his eyes that he was intrigued. She wasn't even sure if the book held the right content.

When she answered with silence, he began scanning the other books on the table. If the first title hadn't stumped him, the rest had the gears in his mind spinning. The topics might seem broad to someone who had only skimmed the contents, but Draco had read many of the books when he was younger, partly because they were among the most interesting in the large library. Why she had them though was a mystery.

"You're reading a lot of books about myths," he commented, only receiving an eye roll. When she refused to speak on the topic, he tapped the French book in front of him lightly. "You tell me just what you're looking for Granger, and I might assist you with your language barrier."

"There are plenty of people in the world that speak French Malfoy, and won't ask questions if I ask them to translate the text. I need more background information before I start telling you my assumptions, as I told you before."

"And as I told _you_ earlier Granger, I can tell when a book leaves my library, and I have no issues hunting you down to get it back. None of these books will disappear without my permission, meaning that you can't take this out to be translated." He smiled with satisfaction as her glare hardened.

"You're making this difficult."

"Actually Granger, I should be making this easier. I'm here to translate things when I have the time, and even for someone of your stature I would make the time to see you if it meant helping my son."

She softened slightly then. Everything always went back to Scorpius and the blonde's pain for his son's current condition. She knew it was a touché subject, the man wasn't as difficult to deal with when things evolved around the boy. He really did want the boy to get better, and he would even sit in her company to do so.

It was unsettling to see Malfoy care about one person so much, when she had always pinned him as a heartless bastard.

"If you could read this and tell me the basic content of the book, it would really help me. Once I know exactly what is in there, I'll be able to know if the book is really going to be helpful or not."

"Why don't I just tell you now then Granger? I have read this before."

She paused at that. Considering the thick layers of dust still coating the cover of the book, she had assumed that book had been sitting around longer than either of them had been alive. To know that he had actually read it at some point was surprising.

"Well, what's in it then?"

The git smirked, and she got a bad feeling about this. He was going to push for answers or something, and she wasn't prepared to answer anything for anyone yet. "It's all mythical Granger; werewolves, vampires, mermaids, all the things that wizards weren't positive about at the turn of the fourteenth century; that's when the book originated from. This isn't the original copy, because that burned in a fire centuries ago. There are reproductions though, and this is one of them. The book talks about the times, and how back then it was uncertain what was really mythical and what was just in hiding. Since then we have obviously proven some of those things to be a reality."

Hermione nodded, glancing at the clock before irritation spread through her body. It was basically time for her to get off for the day, and although she would've remained there any other time she actually had something to get to after her shift that was very important.

"Do you think we could discuss this more in depth tomorrow? I really want to know more, but I just can't stay here today." He glanced at a clock as well, noticing the time.

"How convenient," he muttered, "That the time is nearly over when you are trying to avoid having to answer any of my questions."

"You haven't asked any."

Draco smirked. "You're right, but there's always tomorrow Granger. I told you what the book holds; now I expect some answers to what you're searching for before I help you anymore tomorrow. It's my sons life; I deserve to know your theory."

She frowned at that, knowing it meant that tomorrow would be full of a pestering idiot. Although he did have a point, she still didn't have any urge to divulge information into him. Pursing her lips, she decided to agree with his demands for the time being.

"I suppose, but we can talk more tomorrow. Does this mean I can come and go from the library as I please?"

"It means you can come and find me and I'll let you in when it's necessary." She rolled her eyes.

"You're impossible." Standing, she began to gather books but he waved her off.

"Don't bother; I'll get some of the elves to do it." Her morals kicked in at that, but she fought off the urge to argue with him about that. Now wasn't the time.

"And that one?" she asked, beckoning to the French volume his hand still rested on. "You said no one goes down there-"

"I'll deal with this one," he cut in, letting his eyes fall back to the cover. "I'm sure you know the way out Granger, so please be a proper guest and don't break something on the way out. I'm sure Lincoln is probably waiting for you by the floo."

She nodded, standing. Brushing past his chair, she hurried over to the door. Bringing up anything else would only delay her departure longer, and make her friends wonder. But at the entrance of the library, she couldn't resist turning over her shoulder to glance back.

"Malfoy?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you so dirty?"

Glancing at her from his position, his eyebrows drew together. "I was exploring."

_Exploring what? _The question lingered on her tongue, but she forced it down. There would be something to peg him with tomorrow, when she came back to discuss things again.


	6. The Discovery

**A/n: **So I was going to try and get this up the other day, but instead my school gave me a list of the classes available next year and I spent a bit of time deciding what I really needed to take. Therefore, this is late. However hopefully this will get moving soon and I hope everyone enjoys it! This chapter is going to focus on Draco being nosy, which is always fun! Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and **Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Discovery**

Draco was curious by nature. He was bred to want to know everything everyone else knew, and not rest until he was able to uncover other's secrets. So Hermione keeping her wonderings to herself simply would not do. He could not tolerate the blasted girl having some immaculate theory about his son's health but being unwilling to share it. God damn, it was his son and he wanted to know what could be done to help the poor boy.

After visiting Scorpius- who lashed out at him with those same long, unexplainable nails- he wandered back to the library his ancestors had been stalking since the dawn of time. Really, if she couldn't at least find a reference to her problem here then the answer Granger desired to prove must be imaginary. There was literally nothing that his library did not have a book on.

It spiked his curiosity though to think that she had to wander into the most ancient parts of the library to discover what she was looking for. And he knew exactly what book she had been looking for. Now, in the solitude of night he planned to investigate the contents of the book.

He sat in the same seat she had hours before, trying to twist his mind into thinking like hers before he began. The girl was intelligent and probably looked at things differently than most, so what propelled her to grab this French volume? He glanced at the book that referenced her there- still sitting on the table- and frowned.

_Granger is reading mythology to help my son? The girl must be trying to confuse me!_

He shook his head. This woman would've made a brilliant researcher, but she chose a path in life that would allow her to help others- the goody two shoes. There had to be a reason she had strayed to such strange articles, but no matter. He would flip through and figure it out.

Careful to not damage the worn pages, he began scanning the contents. This book had always been exceptionally boring to him, and despite his better efforts he found himself flipping through the pages of the volume, searching for something more interesting until a page fell out. He cursed, thinking he had just destroyed an ancient volume, when he noted that the parchment now on the ground was newer than that of the pages of the book. Picking it up, he found it to be a handwritten note.

_Granger's notes. _He quickly began scanning the page.

_Hidden in backcountry or forested areas, not often seen. They lurk at night, or so legend says. You can't believe the contents of these newer books, so littered with muggle lies and misunderstood documentation. Must look in older volumes. _

_Talons- long, and sharpened. Often used to take down a feast, or so the older texts say. I don't think it's primal though, not really. If the original were primal, S.M would be dead. –Evolution throughout time? _

_Sharpened teeth- traditional and not unheard of. Would explain the gashes in S.M's skin originally documented by the call in Healers. If S.M was attacked to be made a meal, why wasn't the kill quick. Or is there underlying intention?_

_Primal- again, doesn't seem like primal behavior. There's something sane about the attack, the leftover wounds. S.M has primal attitude right now, and the blood levels are unusually low. Constant documentation shows slowed breathing despite a healthy diaphragm. The body is healed now and experiencing no internal wounds now, so why does the child's physical traits remain so unusual? – slowed breathing and drop in blood level, rare blinking, quickened brain waves. _

_Was the attacker an evolved version of the effects taking over S.M? Comes with growth? _

_Skin is frigid to the touch, when one can touch him. And body temperature has dropped several degrees. All blankets put on are torn to shreds by the long nails. He won't utter a word to us, occasionally the upper canine teeth that have grown sharp pierce the lower lip and cause it to bleed. Doesn't it bother him?_

He stopped reading. Her notes were messy and slanted, like she had put all of it together at once. He wasn't nearly done with everything written on the page, but he didn't understand. Yes, these traits were some he duly noted when he visited Scorpius- who was the only one who could be S.M- but some were things he as a father didn't know, and didn't always know the spells to detect. All of them did remind him of a mythical creature he had heard about before.

_Vampires? The woman really is batty. _

He folded-up the note, setting it atop the book. She was going to use mythology to figure out how to help his son? Did she not recall that although their texts at Hogwarts spoke about Vampires, the race had long since been declared extinct? Even if one still did exist in that time, there was no guarantee that it still had the developed qualities that the species from the past did. And even if these monsters of the night still lurked in some places, what were the chances that one would be hiding in the forest behind his home?

_What you did see did have the appearance of a man. The possibility always remains that it was an unchanged werewolf, but that makes very little sense. The vampire theory is obscene, but…_

_But it's one of the few routes of possibility that you can actually use, simply because there are so many open ended gaps. It would be a difficult being to find, to fight and more importantly to prove to exist. But, there are things that point towards it…_

Draco stood, grabbing the book and the note. Carrying it under his arm, he returned to see his son. Now he had things to ponder while he thought about how to help Scorpius, and even if listening to the Mudblood's moronic ideas was all he had, he would take it. He couldn't stop believing that something out there would help his son get better, and if this was the only route to answers then he would certainly need some time to take it all in.

A lot of time.

* * *

"I can't believe you have to work with him."

"Ron, he's not that bad."

Hermione had gone to breakfast that next morning with her two favorite boys, having finally found some time to herself between all the work hours. Adam had begrudgingly agreed to take the first ten to fifteen minutes of the shift alone, though she didn't really understand why he was so unhappy. Ever since she started working alongside him with his dilemma all he had done was look for ways to be cruel, so some time without her would give him some time to be normal and actually useful, right?

Well, she hoped so.

The breakfast with Ron and Harry had quickly become a conversation about her job and how she had to go to Malfoy Manor each day. To say that neither boy was pleased would be an understatement; they were livid. They couldn't believe that anyone thought this plan was good, and had already pestered her more than once about getting switched to some other case. And she always gave them the same answer; she wanted this case.

"But, it's Malfoy," Harry continued, giving her a sick look. "He can't be pleasant to work with."

"He isn't the best, but he isn't this overbearing, annoying twit either. He actually even let me use his library to conduct some research while I was there."

Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Did he follow you around the entire time crying out cleaning spells?"

"No," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, he hasn't been that bad! If he didn't drink so bloody much I'd consider him a decent parent, but in all honesty he's just worried about his son. How would either of you feel if your only child became inflicted with an unknown phenomenon that hurts him and everyone around him?"

"I would never have been stupid enough to let my child stray off to such dangerous places," Ron replied. "He lives next to the woods for Merlin's sake! One would think that he would keep a better eye on his son with such a lurking, dangerous place nearby. I'm sure the prat at least warned his son on occasion, but he should've put up barriers at night to keep the kid in. Children- especially boys- have a habit to go off exploring. Malfoy may never have been a joyous boy, but he had to at least think about the idea. If the barriers had been in place this problem wouldn't even exist."

She sighed. "I know, but what can be done about that now? It's up to me and Adam to try and figure out how to help him. The good thing for Malfoy at least is that he has enough money to keep funding the hospital to send people like me over there on a day to day basis, even if nothing is done. My boss has been thinking about cutting him off, but why would he? Every time he gets worried about the staff he just hints that to Malfoy and the git ups his pay to St. Mungo's. If Frank had his way he would milk Malfoy's vaults dry."

The two men exchanged a glance. "But is it really helping? Are you making any progress?"

She bit her lip. "Somewhat. We're doing a lot of investigating and research on the subject- that's why Malfoy let me use his library- and with the use of that I believe I have begun to find a way to prove my theory. I've lost my notes however, and I will certainly need to locate those to continue on. Maybe I should speak with Malfoy and see if he saw anything useful, now that I think of it."

"How would he know?" Harry asks.

"He did go to retrieve his son. Some of the Healer's mentioned that for the first few days the git would babble about something he saw, and then discarded the topic. Whatever he saw must've been traumatizing- I mean, why wouldn't it? Even if he didn't get a completely clear look at the creature- or whatever it is- he got a mental image of something destroying his son's body. That's enough to scar anyone for a lifetime."

Harry tilted his head at this, and she glanced his way. "It does sound pretty awful, but couldn't he be doing something to help instead of drinking a ton like you tell us? If he wants to drink his life away that's his choice, but he should be trying to help. My boss sent a letter to the Manor the other day requesting permission to send Aurors to scout out the forest to see if they could find something that is responsible for this, and received a letter back stating that he would handle it himself. So although it seems that Malfoy might now be trying to do something, it could also be a lie. We have no proof that he did anything at all, but since these are family matters he has a right to keep people out." The boy sighed. "He's bloody difficult to work with."

"Actually, he came to see me in the library yesterday, and he did look a bit dirty. He had mud on his shoes and dirt across the jumper he was wearing. When I asked him what he had been doing however, he just said he was exploring."

Again, the men exchanged a glance. "Maybe he is actually trying to do something about it," Ron relented, looking very unhappy to do so. "But it seems ridiculous for the bloke to try and look through that place by himself. Not only is it enormous, but it could also be dangerous. The second something happens to him the Ministry will intervene, and he will have no control about what's happening. More so, if they think it's dangerous they could move his son to St. Mungo's, and we all know that he would be used to test new potions and medicines, all because he would be different from the norm. They would tear him apart in a hospital."

"It's not that bad at work," Hermione argued.

"Maybe not," Harry spoke up, "But you can't deny that they would want to try all sorts of things and treatments on him. It could really hurt the boy, even in his current state. We all know that if he went to a hospital it would be harder on him."

She flinched. "I suppose I can't argue with that."

Eventually, their topics drifted to other things. The conversation moved away from Hermione's current job, and she was thankful. All their questions and concerns had already passed through her mind, and she really didn't see a solution to any of them until something could be done to help Scorpius. She just really hoped she could get some alone time with the child that day to examine him. She doubted Lincoln had a soft hand at anything, and he probably offered little comfort to Scorpius. Even if something monstrous had taken over his outer body, there had to be a part of the boy that still remained on the inside; somewhere dark and alone.

Some part of him had to be afraid. And as conversation carried on, she wound her tale of how to get to him. She just had to play on the boy within him, instead of the beast.

* * *

When she did arrive, Draco was nowhere to be found. She supposed he was off drinking- or perhaps doing something productive like looking through books or scouting the forest again. Whatever he was up to, she didn't see him on the walk to his son's room. Just before she turned the handle though, shouts erupted from somewhere down the hall.

"I said no, and that's final! You had your chance to be loving and caring, but instead you packed all of your things up and walked out, you ungrateful bitch! The last thing anyone needs right now is your interfering self causing more problems!"

"I'm his mother! I have as much of a right to see him as you!"

"Not in my fucking house! I can't believe he let you through! What did you have to do Astoria? Hold your legs apart for him to? Honestly, you need to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere Draco! I want to see my son!"

"You wouldn't even look at him when you left! You were horrified, disgusted! You didn't want to have anything to do with him!"

"But now I do! I'm back Draco, doesn't that mean anything?"

"It doesn't mean shit."

Hermione dropped her hand away from the handle, turning to follow the noise. Behind the door she heard whimpering, but didn't stop just then to consider it. As she neared the screaming duo though, she wondered if Scorpius was upset by his parent's resentment towards each other.

The scene she came upon was nothing unexpected. The two stood face to face screaming everything they could at each other, and every time the woman attempted to pass him Malfoy would stop her from succeeding. They were both red in the face, hands balled at their sides. Vaguely, she wondered if this was what the duo had been like before Mrs. Malfoy left, before Scorpius was attacked in the woods.

"I have a right to see him!"

"You don't have a right to anything! In the divorce I'm taking full right to our child, a child you only use to twist to your advantage. Don't act like you would miss him! That would require a heart, my dear, desperate ex. Now kindly remove yourself from my fucking property before I remove you myself."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Don't try me Astoria. I'm not in the mood to deal with you! I changed the wards, and just because that idiot let you through doesn't give you a right to be on my property anymore! I could fine you for trespassing."

The woman feigned hurt, but even from her position across the room Hermione could see the fakeness in her actions. Everything was choreographed to give off the appearance of hurt and innocence on the woman's part, but there was nothing real about her except her anger at not being allowed to see her son. She personally thought it was a bit hard on someone to be denied access to their own children, but kept her opinions to herself. This argument had nothing to do with her; she shouldn't even be listening in.

"Draco, I know that we have had our issues darling, but you would honestly fine me? We spent years together, yet you would-"

"They were years full of your cheating and deception. You tricked your own son into lying to save you, despite the fact that I always knew. The difference between you and I though, is like that of black and white. You spent our faithless marriage gallivanting around from bed to bed just for kicks, but I remained loyal to you. Yet you believe your pathetic innocent acts will buy you access to seeing your son? You hardly care about him at all, and moreover he needs rest. Go away, and maybe when he's better _he_ can decide if he cares to see your pathetic arse ever again."

Hermione thought she saw real pain flicker across the woman's face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "This is ridiculous! Let me see Scorpius! No matter your opinions on me I am-"

She cut her sentence off there, peering at something over the blonde's shoulder. The brunette didn't need anyone to tell her that she had finally been spotted. "What are you doing over there? Get out, this instant! Didn't anyone ever tell you that the help isn't supposed to eavesdrop?"

Before she had time to defend herself, Malfoy was- surprisingly- leaping to her rescue. "She has more of a right to be here than you do Astoria! I could banish you from this fucking place and your delusional mind would not realize that it means I don't want to see you! Leave Granger alone; she is irrelevant to this conversation. This is between you and I."

That caught the woman's attention, and she swiveled to look at the brunette again. "Granger? As in, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's friend?" Her head snapped back to Draco. "Have you lost your mind!? She's a Mudblood, she doesn't belong-"

"Enough," he snapped, cutting her off. "I have no patience for you. Go back to whatever house you have found for yourself and perhaps I will alert you when Scorpius is well enough for guests."

The girl blinked, tilting her head up to look deep into the blonde's eyes. "But can't I stay here? I mean, I'm worried about my son." Her hand slid up his chest, moving to play with the collar of his shirt. "Daphne's home is strange to live in, she's always too busy with Marcus-"

"That's not my fucking problem." He shoved her hand away, and the sweet expression on her lips turned to a sour frown again. "You wanted to sleep with everyone, now you have the opportunity. But I don't know what you do in your spare time, and the last thing I'm going to do is play with you again. Nice try Astoria, but I've lived without you for years now and this moment is no different. Whoring yourself out only works for so long you know."

She opened her mouth to reply, but it appeared that the blonde was finished throwing words back and forth. He grabbed her arm and dragged the woman back across the room, towards the fireplace. "Now, if you haven't already realized, there are other things that need to be occupying my time. Don't ever sneak back through my wards again Astoria or I will send you a large fine, with interest. He shoved her into the floo, picking up some floo powder before the woman could respond. "Flint Manor."

As his supposed wife disappeared, Hermione straightened her robes. Now it felt a bit awkward to be speaking with the blonde after witnessing what was supposedly a private argument between estranged spouses. The brunette waited patiently for him to turn back to her before she spoke.

"I didn't mean to intrude," she said quickly. "I heard shouts and came to investigate-"

"You were being nosy," he cut in, walking back to her. The man stopped only a foot away, studying her with dark grey eyes. "Did you find anything useful last night?"

Hermione shrugged. "Perhaps. I would like to use your library again if that's okay-"

"Fine." She was surprised he agreed so quickly. "Lincoln told me upon his arrival today that your boss expected a report, so you may as well have something to present."

She cringed. "He did?"

Malfoy smirked at her. "Oh, so you didn't know about that? Well, I'm glad you have a heads up now. It might help you explain all that mythology bullshit in an orderly manner."

"What? How do you know I'm reading mythical books?"

"Oh please, Granger, I translated the French book you picked up. I also know some of the books that would've referenced you to it. Interesting reading material for someone that declared herself a researcher."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything about my research. And why are you even poking around? What I am looking up _is_ relevant to your son; I'm not just looking through things for the fun of it. Whether or not you think the topics are practical or not is a whole other thing."

He smirked, reaching out to pat her shoulder once. "I certainly hope that the research is relevant Granger, because if your boss tells you everything you've done is ridiculous later I will put in a request to have someone else take up your position as one of the Healers looking into my son's well-being."

"Is that a threat Malfoy? You might think my topics are moronic but I can see the sense in my ideas."

"And what is that?"

She smiled up at him. "You'll just have to wait and see." She brushed past him, returning the way she had come. He watched her go, thinking that maybe he should say something.

Instead, he let silence take over. Reaching into his pocket, he drew out the slip of paper she had lost in one of his books, her section of notes that he found interesting. He unfolded the contents, scanning the words again.

_Maybe now I have something to search for in the woods. _


	7. The Gash

**A/n: **Sorry that it's late! I got sick and things just did not work out time wise. Anyways this chapter is a bit more interesting, and I hope everyone enjoys! Thanks to my betas **Tessa Cresswell **and** JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Gash**

Draco had decided the moment after Hermione brushed past him that it was time to return to the unexplained woods behind his ancestral home. He was drawn there like blood to veins, constantly glancing out the massive windows adorning the walls of the Manor to glance back into the shady depths of the trees. In the daytime, light  
played tricks on the mind, and he more often than not leapt from his seat someplace in the house after staring at the woods for an obscure amount of time, his eyes having picked out the shadow of the same figure from that night. His misguided impression that the figure was out there just inside the trees, laughing at his immense misfortune never proved to be true. Draco found himself staring into the forest more and more often, hoping that the creature would return searching for its lost victim. If it did come searching, he would be ready to strike and kill

If he knew exactly what it was though, the situation would be easier. Granger continued to try and play elusive the rest of the day, but it did him no good. It was nearly four hours before the Healers were to depart that he called upon an elf to watch over them- and more importantly his boy- while he went out exploring. No questions were asked of course by the loyal servant, and he quickly went on his way in search of the evil in the trees.

Initially, the plan was to fly. He had been out flying just the other day, the day Granger asked to use his library. Now he had her notes of Scorpius safely tucked into his pocket, and he intended to wander the strange land, searching for this attacker. He couldn't travel and search the entire place by any means, but he wanted to get a feel for things. He wasn't sure how many times he would need to journey in there until he found the fucking creature that did this- or at what times of the day he would need to visit- and he wanted to know the way out by heart.

The only problem was, all of his searches continued to turn up with nothing. Standing in the middle of a clearing between the trees, he let out a string of curses. Nothing was turning up, and therefore no progress was being made. He hated getting nothing done, being able to do nothing to help his son, but what could he do? The being was strange if it was posing as a vampire- something that had long since been extinct- and a part of him still thought Granger batty for coming up with this atrocious idea to begin with.

Leaning against a tree, he willed something to attack him in this vulnerable mindset. Absolutely anything at this point would be beneficial; he just wanted to see something that would give him hope in Granger's theory. He needed to have some hope still that Scorpius truly would recover from this. And as the days went on, that belief was slowly diminishing into nothing.

* * *

"Don't get too close Hermione; I've told you so a thousand times." She glanced up from Scorpius for a moment to give Adam a pointed look, for yet again he was disrupting her studying by trying to be uncharacteristically worried about her well-being when she stood close to Scorpius- who had been under magical spells to keep him still for days now, so she didn't really understand his concern.

"Shut up already Adam; Merlin knows it wouldn't be a bad thing if we actually got something done for once." She refocused her eyes, again studying the small boy before her. "He's just a child; don't treat him like a monster."

"He _is_ a monster," he demanded, trying to pull her away. But the brunette was firm with her decision to stay close to the harmless individual, and swatted her partner away.

"Nonsense; besides, you probably scare him more when you use _offensive_ terms like that." This time she didn't bother glancing his way, assuming that he very well didn't approve of her mannerisms around the patient. He wasn't a monster, nor a victim; Scorpius Malfoy was a patient like everyone else treated by St. Mungo Healers- even if he was an at home patient- and Adam needed to get over his childish fears and just do his job. "Quit looking at him like that will you? Grab a clipboard and take notes, or why don't you administer some potions to him? Just do something other than stare like a gaping fool! You're supposed to be a professional, one of the best in the business! Yet you're acting like a trainee. You have worked in this business longer than I, so you should be adjusted to the fact that yes, in this field you do encounter things that are completely unorthodox to other people. Now get over it and make yourself useful!"

She didn't turn around to look at him, so she never saw the wizard's grip on his wand tighten. Adam Lincoln had heard too many rumors from other Healers at St. Mungo's about the girl's famous bossy attitude, but had never really been a victim of her behavior until this assignment began. He had more than enough reasons to avoid looking at Scorpius Malfoy or helping her, and he would continue to uphold those reasons until a time came when he could no longer stand around and slide by on the lack of information possessed. He had one purpose for being assigned to this specific case, and so long as he continued to be of use he could keep his position as a Healer for the Manor; the pay for in house visits daily was excellent, and he was quite comfortable with his assignment so long as he could continue to steer her onto the wrong track of thoughts.

Oh, it would be comically easy to take advantage of her naïve mindset right now and remove the brilliant girl as an issue from the equation; he could always stage it to look like the Malfoy heir broke free of the binds on him and killed her, but instead of doing anything at all Adam shoved his wand into his pocket and walked over stiff legged. For now, it wouldn't do to cause more problems.

Although he opted to only give the appearance of working, Adam found himself studying the girl across from him more than the boy he was supposed to have as a patient. It was no lie that he was brutal with her, often neglecting the fact that he might be administering pain to her physical body whenever he was trying to simply move her from one location to another. It wasn't that he felt bad about leaving a few small bruises here and there on someone who simply could not stand to be overpowered by anyone but more so that she interested him. Sure, she was beautiful- and very much single- but it was more than that. Hermione Granger above all else was keeping secrets, secrets that his connections within the Ministry did not know themselves. She was a curiosity because not everything was known about her as one would like to assume. The girl was hiding something big- which more than likely was the reason for her constant tardiness to numerous events and meeting- and he intended to figure out what that was.

It could end up being a messy process, but it was a process Adam was more than willing to go through with. And at long last he finally came up with something to say that wouldn't seem suspicious.

"You take far too many repetitive notes Hermione," he noted, barely getting her to glace up at him. "Don't you think it's a waste of time? Nothing ever changes with this one."

"Well, we'll never be positive that something does change unless we take thorough notes," she snapped in return, again checking Scorpius with a spell.

"Or perhaps you take so many notes because you have a habit of being late?" That quickly caught her attention. She straightened up and looked at him, pointing a finger.

"Can you at least attempt to be professional Adam? I mean really. This is your job; you can at least try to give a damn. Now stop badgering me! You may not care that the Malfoy family is suffering, but I don't believe that anyone deserves this kind of misery." Rolling her eyes, she resumed watching the boy.

Her co-worker tensed, attempting to not reach down, grab his wand and tie her to something. He would do anything at this point to get some fucking answers from her! But his position would not allow him to do that, and it would draw too much attention if Hermione Granger suddenly turned up dead and bloody one night. This case was strange enough and he had been instructed more than enough times to know that failure to suppress information was not an option. The boy may not be able to hex her, but he could divert her.

"Do you know if Malfoy had decided to allow the Aurors to search the grounds?"

Hermione looked up at this, a frown on her face. "I didn't actually realize they were pressing to do so."

"Of course they are! Look at how much coverage this little story had; think of all the reporters that you shoo off on a daily basis not because you're Harry's friend but because you're one of the Head Healers on this case. The Malfoy's are rich, and with a shattered marriage as the result of this, everyone wants to know every detail. But you and I know that's not the reason the Aurors would push for the right to explore private property."

"Well, I'm certain if the Ministry decided to break the law and begin searching the grounds Malfoy would be more than happy to use those old, horrid methods of exterminating trespassers' from your property; he never was that friendly." She shrugged. "I suppose that's one reason why the Ministry isn't pushing their way in yet. Malfoy would be a force to be reckoned with."

"Indeed," he agreed, pleased to see that she saw all the same problems everyone else did. "That doesn't excuse the fact though that something on this property did cause this boy to end up in this bloody state, and perhaps if officials could simply investigate the problem something worthy could be done about it. If someone else in Britain suffers the same fate, Draco Malfoy will be sued simply for not letting things be fixed while the problem is still minor."

The brunette huffed. "I hardly think this is minor." Shoving some papers together to stack, she chanted some spells and watched the results pop up above the body. As usual, nothing had changed. "Do you have your investigation notes prepared for Mr. Williams today? I doubt he will be forgiving if we show up with rubbish."

"I do," he agreed, moving closer. When he stood just behind her he placed his hands lightly on her waist, pulling her back towards him. The alarmed witch spun around, and he locked her against him. "And what exactly have you been investigating down in that library lately Hermione?"

"Nothing," she hissed, moving herself several steps away from him. His arms dropped to his side and he watched her retreat with a darkened expression on his face. "I'll make my presentation to Williams about my progress, and you will do the same."

"Yes," he bit out. "I was only curious-"

"Something tells me Adam that you are far too curious for your own good! Now keep this professional! It's embarrassing enough that we've been arguing in front of the patient this entire time. We don't know if his brain is processing things differently or not, and he still could've understood everything we just said!" She shook her head at him, hugging herself. "Now if you'll excuse me, why don't _you_ run some tests on Scorpius, and I'll disappear down to that library again and continue my _private_ research, thank you very much!" She brought her stuff to her and stormed past her partner, muttering something about nerves the entire way. When the door slammed shut, he chuckled.

"She's easy to anger, isn't she?" he said, speaking to no one in particular. He knew Scorpius wouldn't reply, and turned back to pat the child's head. Instead of attempting to lash out at him like everyone else, the boy shrank back into the mattress as far as he could, fearful eyes looking up at Adam. "Don't worry boy, we'll train you soon too, when everyone realizes there's no hope left for you."

* * *

She was scrambling through books, checking all the rubbish bins and under the chairs to see if she could locate it. One of her pages of notes had recently disappeared, and she really needed it back before she presented it to her boss. It was terrifying to think that part of her long hours of work had been for nothing, and now that the paper was gone there was no guarantee that she would remember everything from it for when she presented to her boss. If she couldn't get him to at least acknowledge the idea, then she would be utterly screwed. If he didn't believe her and thought she was losing her mind, she could quickly become a patient to St. Mungo's instead of an employee.

Hermione sat down on a chair and rubbed her temples. She wanted to help Scorpius, she really did. But now she was being careless and losing things, so she was creating more problems than solving, and that wasn't her job. Every time she glanced down at the child she thought she could see pain in the depths of his eyes- and fear, instead of the monstrous physique people now pegged him with. She couldn't imagine how hard it would be for him to be reintroduced into society when things did get fixed. Considering how difficult it was for Remus to exist among the wizards and witches of Britain without being judged and shunned, she pitied the youngest Malfoy. No one deserved to be ridiculed for differences they had no control over. And although Malfoy did have the funds to educate his son from the structure of his own home, she didn't think that was the answer. He would never be social; he would never have any real friends if that were the case. Even the little brat Lizzy would grow up and forget about him if he never left his home. The child would have to overcome many obstacles when they did finally cure him- else toned down how severe his changes were- before he could exist among others, and it was sad. No child deserved to have their childhood squandered by uncontrollable forces.

She laid her head down on the table after a few more minutes of searching. That section of the notes was gone, and for the life of her she couldn't recall exactly what book those facts had come from. She had too many other things on her mind to be concerned about that.

The soft tap of footfalls on a wood floor alerted her of another presence, and she lazily lifted her head to see Malfoy stopping in front of her table.

"I don't believe you are paid to lie around Granger." As she took in his appearance, she sat up straighter. The last time she saw him dirty had only been a few days ago, but now he was filthy. It was surprising to think that Malfoy could even stand wandering into the presence of others while covered in so much grime, but for a moment she didn't question it. She was too busy staring at the gash marks on his cheek.

"Did you go see your son just now?" she asked slowly, rising from her chair. His eyebrows drew together as she scurried around the table and stopped next to him, reaching up a hand to touch his new cuts on his face. He caught her hand inches from his skin, glaring down the bridge of his nose at her.

"Don't touch me," he snapped. "We all know I don't much like that."

"Where did you get these scars though?" she continued, as though he didn't hear. Scorpius had small hands, meaning small nails, meaning he didn't leave incredibly fat gashes, just deep. But these appeared to be long and deep, and hadn't yet received proper medical attention. In fact it looked like all Malfoy had done to stop the bleeding was a half assed spell to stop the blood, but it did nothing about the dried red crusts on his skin. "Don't you at all care that you look like shit right now?"

His eyes widened a hair, but he didn't seem very offended by the comment. Now she knew for certain that something was wrong, for usually he had many things to say to her whenever she attempted to insult him. "Not at this moment."

Sighing at his reply, she pulled out her wand with her opposite hand. His eyes widened again at that, but she quickly shut him up. "Don't start complaining Malfoy, I'm just going to heal it. It is my job after all." One quick tap on his cheek and the marks were healed up. "You might consider cleaning it though so that you don't have to destroy your skin to get that dried blood off. Merlin, how long have you let that sit? The outside looks a bit infected. You should definitely let me find you a potion for-"

"I'm fine," he snapped, shoving her away. "It might be your job to baby people Granger, but I don't need it. I need you worrying about my son, not me."

She nodded tightly, just once. "I was trying to do that actually before you barged in-"

"It's my library."

"Whatever. I'm looking for a sheet of notes actually. I must've left it here last night, but I can't seem to find it. I actually needed it, and it won't do me any good to have to look for the same book again. I want to have everything in order for later."

"What's later?" he asked, attempting to sound curious. He wasn't actually, but he did wish to know if the set of notes she happened to be looking for was the sheet he had located.

"I need to see my boss later about the progress we've made with your son," she replied with a sigh, beginning to look again. "If we can't show that improvements have been made or that we have a half decent theory, then he is going to replace us with two new Healers-"

Draco stopped her there, scoffing. "_More_ new Healers? Well that's about the last thing that needs to be done! Your fucking boss seems to assume that my son can just adjust to anything at any time, but that's not true! There are enough issues happening here right now, and if your so called boss believes that it will be at all beneficial to again try and adjust new Healers to this situation, as well as adjust my son to them, then he is unfit to be in charge. Besides, this isn't an attraction; the more people the come here, the more requests I get from newspapers to do interviews. Can you believe that? What kind of person would do an interview and report out their son's private life when he can barely move? I'm sick of new people coming here Granger. Now what are these fucking notes that we are looking for, so I can perhaps help you? I'll be damned if things get changed up _again_."

She was completely caught off guard by the passion in his voice. She had realized from the start that Malfoy honestly cared about his son more than anything in the world, but he had never before displayed that much emotion towards anything in her presence. He had to be extremely frustrated and bothered to be allowing her to see him display those sorts of emotions. She didn't understand what it was like to be helpless for one's child, but she did know what it was like to be helpless to help someone you love.

"Okay," she said slowly, nodding her head. "Okay then, if you would like to help, I could use it. It's on a page about this long," she continued, indicating a size with her hands, "And it's covered on both sides-"

"Don't you think it would be more productive to simply tell me what's on it?" he asked, shaking his head. "It could save us some time."

She bit her lip. Telling Malfoy that she believed his son was a vampire would probably earn her a slew of cuss words angled in her direction and a declaration that he really would prefer someone new to help his son now. "Let's just say, it reads like mythology." As she turned her back to begin looking and avoid questions, she missed his slight smirk. So she was still stuck on that delusion, hmm?

But the problem was, now so was he. The very idea of a vampire in the depths of his woods seemed irrational but not impossible once one looked at all the features that could make the place out to be an excellent home for the night demon. He could not deny that his search that day in the woods had been solely for people with the palest of skin- even paler than his own. But that search turned up in vain, and he was left with nothing but a peculiar cut on his cheek, one he didn't entirely remember how he got it. Now that was an oddity in itself. He was usually quite aware when he went exploring, so why would he forget something so blaringly obvious. He had no answer though, and instead opted to forget about that for the time being. Her notes were after all in his pocket, and moving he quickly stuck them into the cushion of an extravagant chair, one near enough to Granger that he was sure she would check it soon.

Of course he was correct, and a few moments later the woman was jumping up in relief. "Thank Merlin I found it!" She turned and even beamed in his direction, and that's when he knew they had to be fairly important to her. "I don't know what I would've done without these."

"Well, now we don't have to find out," he commended. Her eyes fell back to his cheek, and he huffed. "If it would make you feel better Granger, you can get me some of that bloody potion, alright?"

Hermione nodded her agreement to that idea. "You're going to want it by the looks of it. What did you do, throw yourself into the dirt? You're dirty, but the dirt looks embedded in your skin." She moved forward to touch him once more, and once more he caught her hand. She glanced down. "Forgot you hate to be touched," she snapped.

He let her go. "Quite. Now can we get on with this? I do have other things to do."

The brunette rolled her eyes, turning away from the boy as she shoved the notes into her pocket. "Sorry, I forgot that I'm cutting into your annual drinking hour. My mistake."

He had half a mind to spin her and scream at her for having the idiocy to speak to him like that, but he held his tongue. It wouldn't help to have them arguing, and besides, he was beginning to feel an odd twinge in his neck. Perhaps he just needed to get her out of his hair and sit down for a bit.

As they exited the library, both failed to ever get the feeling of being watched. They were so caught up in their own common banter that neither had the time to sit there and get the creepy feeling one gets when they feel like they are being watched. Neither experienced the shivers coursing down their spine, nor the odd chills. Instead, they both failed to look out the large, open windows to the haunted figure displaying itself outside the trees.

They didn't look at the dead skin, the sharp teeth, or the killer eyes. If they had only paid some attention, they could've looked into the eyes of Scorpius's attacker. But instead, they neglected to look out. And from his ideal position on the grass outside the woods, the creature laughed. It was getting away with so very many things tonight, right under the noses of the very humans who deemed themselves superior.

* * *

The meeting between Hermione and her boss did not go well. Not only did he laugh at her, he gave her a very limited window of time to present something "_of use_" as he put it to him before he booted her off the case. But this specific case paid in more money than any other job she had ever had because it was on a private residence, and in her financial situation the money was crucial. Now she was more stressed than ever to have some sort of major breakthrough, be it with Scorpius specifically or the research that she was doing that could be used to help the young blonde; whichever came first. She wasn't going to be picky.

And to make matters worse, Adam went just before her with his introduction of ideas to their boss and the man just loved his _careful_ research and precision each time he attempted anything new to help the boy. To say she was fuming would be an understatement, considering that Adam more often than not stood as far away from Scorpius as possible and glowered at the child. He got all the credit, yet she did all the work and was told she would have to do more to even be considered smart enough to be on the case! Adam was snaking by with little to no work, and it bothered her to the core. But as soon as she brought up the topic, both men shushed her. If this wasn't a sign that she was being ganged up on and conspired against, she didn't know what was.

Dropping all of her notes on the worn couch of her apartment, she took off the patchwork green coat she always wore. Piles of mail adored her living room table, and she quickly headed out to find the newest letters. But of course, among the piles of muggle ads wanting her to still go to a college, were all the letters about payments that were overdue. It made her heart sink when she had collected all the letters looking for payments, horrified at the amount of debt that she was creating for herself. It wasn't her fault though, and though it couldn't really be helped it dropped her spirit. Days and days of working from dawn until dusk would do nothing to help dig her out of the whole lot, and she made more new payments to make each month. She would likely have to be kicked from her home if she decided to keep paying all those medical letters, but what else could she do? She would not let them die.

A part of her almost wanted to be like Malfoy that night, and give into the desire to drown one's sorrows in a bottle of liquor. But she was stronger than that, and didn't even have the bottle to do so. That would require going out and spending money, money she did not have. Malfoy could drink his life away, simply because he had the funds to do so. She didn't think he should, but he could if he wanted, and that was the sad part; he could do whatever he wanted with his life, even die. She couldn't die; she had too many responsibilities.

And those responsibilities were causing a headache. Now that she had verbally been beaten down at work, her confidence was not so high. Maybe she should call Ron or Harry and ask to spend the night just so she wasn't all alone, but she shooed the idea away. They had their own families, and didn't need to be worrying about her.

So she shoved all the mail away and hurried down to her room, stripping along the way. She dropped her clothes whenever she got them off, and by the time she had gotten to her bed she was completely naked. Throwing herself under the covers, she shoved her tears back.

Sometimes in moments like these, she wanted someone to be there to hold her, and lie that everything would be alright. But nothing would be alright; she had accepted that fact. She needed to stop paying the hospital, accept the fact that they were indeed gone and bury the bodies. But she couldn't do that; she couldn't fathom facing a reality like that.

And on top of everything else, she had Malfoy's family issues to worry about as well.

* * *

That night he had made the executive decision to sleep in Scorpius' room on the floor near the bed, just like he did when the child had nightmares- or he couldn't stand seeing Astoria's face upstairs. But tonight he wanted to do so simply to be close to his child, even if the boy wouldn't allow him to touch him.

But he still had that horrible headache. Before retiring to the uncomfortable position of the hard floor, he had decided it was time to shower and take more of the potion Granger had given him to help with his cut. But the gash was healed now, and the blood had been cleared away. A quick shower would hopefully calm his nerves, and then he could go lie on the floor and reminisce about times less complicated.

He noted that as he got out of the shower that the water stung his neck, and decided to check that out. It was probably just a scrape he had acquired while out and it could be easily healed. But as he brushed his short hair behind his ear to have a better look, his heart stopped.

Now there certainly had not been two puncture holes there before his departure, two holes that were slightly red still. Granger's notes popped into his mind, and a million thoughts jumped out at that.

"Well shit. Now I'm going to have to owl Granger."


	8. The Words

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this. If I did, I would be making my own stories instead of spinning off other people's amazing plots.

**A/n: **It's a bit late… sorry! Thanks again to my beta(s) **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Words**

Hermione arrived at the Manor in a bad mood. It was indeed her job to watch out for Scorpius' wellbeing, but Merlin her day had been bad enough and receiving a late night owl from Draco Malfoy was not something she found delightful. If anything, she found it to be a pain.

The blonde git was right there in the living room when she arrived, pacing back and forth. He stopped when she arrived, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was immediately in front of her, nearly causing her to fall over in the fireplace.

"We need to talk," he said, staring down at her. She gave him a light shove back before stepping around him to get out of the enclosed space, already on her way to his son's bedroom.

"Yes we do. What's wrong with him? If there have been any major changes St. Mungos' should've been alerted. We set up sensors-"

"It's not my son," he said, grabbing her shoulder before she got too far along. "This is about me, and your bloody research."

She glanced over her shoulder, the sound of Adam and Frank's laughs echoing in her mind. "What about my research?" she asked quietly.

"Well, I think I need to talk to you about it. You were researching vampires, yes?"

Now she whirled around, eyes wide. "How do you know what I was researching? Did you read my notes? Malfoy, I swear-"

"I did read them," he screamed, speaking over her. "And yes, a part of me does believe it's absolute rubbish and you are wasting a lot of time trying to push this idea on anyone. Or at least, I was under that impression until tonight."

"And what changed?" she hissed. He knew she was unhappy that he had been prying through her things. But he couldn't worry himself about that, nor about her skin. Without looking at the expression on her face, he snatched up her wrist and began dragging her in the opposite direction, towards the bathroom. She remained silent, gaping at his actions.

"This changed," he snapped when they finally got to the bathroom. The light illuminated itself on his skin, and she could clearly make out the two puncture wounds at the nape of his neck. Her eyes widened and she leaned in to look.

"Where did you obtain these?" she asked, obvious curiosity pushing through her every word. "Merlin Malfoy, did you go back into those woods?"

"Well I needed to investigate," he replied. "But the thing is Granger; I don't recall exactly how I got those. I don't remember a thing."

She took a step back now, eyes huge. "Nothing? You remember nothing?"

Draco shook his head. "No. I didn't even realize they were there until I took a shower and the water burned them. That's why I owled you tonight, because I didn't think your partner would much appreciate me constantly stealing you away while you should be working. The thing is I'm a bit concerned about how they got there, and what left them."

She nodded, reaching forward to touch them but he stopped her hand. "They are sensitive you know."

Hermione cringed. "Sorry. But I do need to look at them. Do you mind sitting down?" He didn't argue, but grabbed a hand mirror as they exited the bathroom. She supposed that sitting on a toilet to have one's neck examined was just too much for Malfoy to consider, and he needed an actual chair. She followed him to what she supposed was the dining room, where he promptly took a seat.

"Why the mirror?" she asked, setting her things down. He scoffed, holding it up.

"I want to see what you're doing. Now don't try anything funny, just look. Merlin knows I can't trust you to not do something heinous to me."

She inclined an eyebrow. "You think those kinds of comments drive me to consider helping you? I might be a Healer Malfoy, but I'm not a fool. If you honestly believe I'm so very incompetent that I would harm you when I should merely be studying the wounds, then why ever did you call me here? I won't have you insinuating that I take my job lightly. Healing is a particular practice, one might many can either not stomach or not handle. Now if you would kindly shut that ridiculous mouth of yours, set down the mirror and act like you trust me to not be a complete moron I might actually try and help you."

He bit his lip and slammed the mirror on the table, glaring at her. "I do not like it when people hint at me being a fool Granger, but this time I'll make an exception for you. I doubt you would help me if I argued with you anymore anyway, and I certainly did not invite you here for mindless chatter. Stop worrying about defending your bloody dignity and pride so much, and will you just look at the mark? Merlin woman, you can be so difficult at times."

Deciding to ignore his final comment for the sake of getting on with things, Hermione leaned in and studied his neck. The marks did indeed seem irritated, and she whispered a spell to sooth the inflamed skin. He glanced at her through the side of his eyes.

"I thought I said not to try anything with me."

"Shut up Malfoy; it's a soothing charm. It should be helping by now."

He grumbled, saying nothing in response. She took that as a yes and smirked. She only observed the mark a moment longer before she stepped back, twiddling her thumbs.

"And you really don't have any recollection of how you got this?"

The blonde glared at her. "_Yes_ Granger, I have none. Why would I bother lying to you? Now would you please say something useful?"

She brushed off his cool remark, wanting to get along with this. "Did you have the marks when we spoke yesterday?"

He shrugged. "I found them after I took my shower. I didn't really notice if they were there before."

Recalling the marks across his cheek, she pursed her lips. "Considering the gashes I healed, there's a possibility. Where did you say you were again?"

"I didn't," he remarked coldly. "But if it makes any difference, I was out looking through the woods. Your fucking boss seems to be under the uncanny belief that I would allow ramrod Aurors to wander through the space, which is a ridiculous idea. If there is something out there to be discovered, I will find it all on my own. This is my property."

She cocked an eyebrow. "You'll search alone even if there's the possibility that something extinct, something _surreal_, like a vampire is romping through the woods?" He met her with silence. "Vampires drink blood Malfoy; it's the most basic thing in legends. Something may have taken your blood- perhaps even dueled you- and you have no way to re-account the events at all. Doesn't going alone sound a little foolish? Nothing is stopping the same set of events from happening again."

"Where are you going with this exactly?"

Hermione glanced away, deciding she would rather pace the room than look at him as she spoke. "I'm saying that memory loss is not something I have ever come across during my research. Merlin knows I searched every library I could think of to find information about this when I first saw the condition your son was in, but none of it ever brought up an event like that. Then again, it's all considered mythical information, so I suppose anything is possible-"

"Exactly," he cut in. "The topic you're looking through is a sparse bit of logical information indeed, and shouldn't be trusted. Face it Granger; here, books won't help you. Nothing will explain what you're looking for, because no one knows."

Her body perked up a bit at that, and she looked back at him. "It's undiscovered territory," she said dreamily, her mind working a mile a minute. "Just think of what I could discover!"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Don't start getting glossy eyed Granger. This is something that involves real humans you know- like me and my son. Your discoveries should be limited to what you can discover that will help with the situation. If something like that is lurking in my woods, I want it gone. It's a danger to my son."

Of course, he would be worried about his son more than the mark on his skin, but she couldn't help but smile at his comment. Malfoy was unpleasant at the best of times, but he did honestly care for his son. If nothing else, he was an excellent father.

"And to remove the creature from your property Malfoy, you're going to have to investigate. Now before you go storming out the door after something dangerous, remember that you did completely lose any memories of being bitten by this unknown specimen. You shouldn't be looking alone."

He cocked an eyebrow, leaning back against his chair at her words. "And what exactly are you proposing Granger? I didn't owl you tonight so you could squirm your way into searching the woods behind the Manor. The last thing we need is for someone like you to be hurt while here- now_ that _would make headlines. And aside from that, we're not even completely sure that it is this mythological vampire we are searching for. The attacker of my son- and myself- could be a multitude of things. I want the bloody thing away from us as soon as possible, but I won't put you in harms way to do so. I won't have reporters at my doorstep day and night trying to get an article into the papers when you get hurt, nor will I lose one of the best Healers my son can have. Don't think that you coming along to search is an actual option here."

Although she was a bit flattered by his comment about her being one of the best Healers his son could have- though she was nearly certain that was just a slip of tongue- she was insulted by his words. "Are you insinuating that I cannot handle myself Malfoy?" she asked, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

"Look here Granger, I know that you can hit a bit, but-"

"If you think the headlines will be wild about my death here, they will explode with the news of yours. If you are killed by this so called vampire, then your poor son is left an orphan unless that horrid ex of yours can get him to come live with her. They could spin a complete lie out of things. And going out there alone again means possible suicide if something gets its… _fangs _into you again. Why risk your son losing his father?"

He bit the inside of his lip tightly. If she knew how to turn things against him, she had never done a better job. She knew from how he reacted and cared for his son over the previous days that he would not attempt to die and leave the boy alone, not after everything. And going out alone could mean the end of him when he did confront this being, no matter how excellent of a duelist he was.

But he said nothing that he was thinking, and instead rose from his hair to stand next to her. "Let's say for a moment that I do agree to let you come along Granger. What are you getting out of this?"

She frowned. "Well, knowledge of course. I'll also be ensuring that an innocent little boy doesn't lose his father through foolish actions. And honestly, it's my job Malfoy to figure out an answer to this situation. If that means tolerating your presence at night for a while, then I suppose I should accept it."

Well damn, he had forgotten that she would have to be there in the night for things to work out completely. The being seemed to be a creature of the night after all, right? "I agree," he commended. "So shall you be staying each day after your shift with Adam ends to go searching with me? The sun does set early enough for that to work you know."

Her nose crinkled up at the idea. "Merlin no. Adam is acting strange lately- rude really- and the last thing I need is a bunch of invasive questions from him the following day when we should be trying to help your son. I'll go home after my shift is over for an hour or two to eat dinner and freshen up. I can return when it's dark and we can embark together. You'll at least wait for me to arrive, won't you?"

He rolled his eyes, "Begrudgingly, but yes."

"That's good at least," she said with a sigh. "But what about Scorpius? Won't there need to be someone to watch him?"

Draco bit his lip a moment, looking unsure. "If we limit the search to a set time, the elves can watch him. They have watched him many times before, and they know well enough at this point to stay away from his bed." He ignored how her jaw twitched as he spoke about the elves. "That should work for the duration of our search."

Hermione shrugged. "If you are sure. But so long as you don't have any plans to begin right now Malfoy, I do need to get home. I have to be here in a few hours as it is."

He nodded in agreement. "The rest can be planned when you arrive tonight."

"Yes, indeed," she replied tiredly, turning away. She really did need to get some rest before this search began.

* * *

They were there again, the strange people he didn't know. They were always there, just watching him. Sometimes the girl would poke him with something sharp, or struggle to get something icky into his mouth and force him to swallow, but that was all. The two people were always there, but they never did anything.

He didn't understand why father only appeared in his vision sometimes. Didn't Daddy still love him? He knew he had hurt Father the other day, but wouldn't he forgive him? The child didn't know why he had such large fits of rage, just that they were there. He didn't like them one bit, because they made the strange people tie him to the bed. He didn't like being restrained, not one bit.

The girl was always sweeter, but he always hurt her. She would bend in close to say something or grab something, and his hands would attempt to lash at her. Sometimes she would get hurt, sometimes he couldn't reach. But whenever she reached to touch an area of her body and her hand came back up red, he felt bad. He didn't think she deserved to get hurt, yet he kept making her bleed.

Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to be so mean? He hated his actions now nearly as much as he hated it when his parents would fight. Sometimes he got so frustrated with himself he wanted to cry, but he just couldn't. His eyes didn't much like moisture.

And the most terrifying part was when the woman would bleed. The food they continued to shove down his throat tasted vile, but the gleam of fresh red liquid triggered his taste buds and he wanted nothing more than to jump from the bed and drain the girl's body dry.

But he couldn't do that. It would be bad, and he didn't want to be bad. Father had to be mad at him for being so disobedient earlier, and he didn't want to try his nerves again. He wanted to make his father smile a real smile. Whenever the older blonde man visited his smiles were usually broken, shattered by tears. Sometimes he would collapse on the bed and cry beside the little boy, but more often than not he just fell to the floor and scooted away. Scorpius still didn't know what to do with his long nails.

He hated how people treated him, and he hated being mute. But it hurt to speak, and he constantly felt the heated pain of his long teeth butting his gums and lips. He would've cried if he could've. His body was the same- something that made him want to cry. He felt like his actions weren't his own, and that felt scary. He didn't like not being able to control his body.

Looking up at the people, he wanted to cry again. Why couldn't he talk? Why couldn't he just take the pain and speak? If only they could hear what he had to say, they wouldn't think he was a monster. Maybe then they would untie his sore arms and legs and let him wander around.

Maybe then he could hug his father. He missed his father's warm embrace.

Or better yet, maybe he could tell them about the terrifying creature he saw in the woods. Maybe then someone could find it and stop it. He didn't ever want someone to be hurt and feel like this again.

* * *

She did return to the Manor later, and surprisingly the blonde kept his promise to wait for her. She half expected him to leave and forget about her, which would be quite foolish indeed. But nope, there he was, glaring angrily at a wall.

As she walked to him, she thought over the days events again. Adam was unfriendly once more and even had the audacity to laugh at her from the day before. She ended up hexing him quite a bit later when they were in the hall. If something did come out of this investigation, she would be the only one laughing.

Malfoy certainly wouldn't be laughing. He would be rejoicing at having his son back.

Yet each day she couldn't help wondering if maybe Scorpius had more going on in his head than one suspected. He did after all seem to be an intelligent boy before the accident, and it was possible that there were numerous thoughts dancing in his head.

Now if she were only a Legilimens, she could see what was going on in his head. Rumor was that Malfoy knew both Occlumency and Legilimency, but nothing was confirmed. He did work with the Death Eater's after all, and one would never really know what the group members taught each other. She planned to bring that up in conversation later, but for now she wanted to get out and start searching.

They wasted almost no time on greetings. When she brought up his son he waved a hand at her and muttered that the elves were already flanked in the room, watching him. He seemed to take nothing lightly.

The walk to the woods was brief. What must've been a grand distance for a small boy like Scorpius was merely a few centimeters short of a kilometer, and the forest actually started closer to the Manor than that. But the location Malfoy chose to enter through just happened to be further back.

"I recall searching the front and locating nothing," he said as they entered the forest. Both wands lit up immediately as their owners fought off the overpowering darkness. No moon shown through the trees tonight, and it gave off a forbidden feeling. It was as though the woods didn't want them to enter, or at least in Hermione's location. "I got to about here where the forest from edge to edge is thin, but from here on in its very dense and far too large for me to bother knowing. There's no way we can search it all tonight."

"I never planned to," she replied. "Just keep your eyes open."

"I will Granger. We are looking for something inhumanly pale though, or at least that's what the books say. Shouldn't be too hard to locate with our wands giving off such grand light."

"I agree," she replied with a smirk. "You're quite easy to spot; the light just bounces off your skin." He glanced back at her glaring, and she stifled a laugh. Silence followed, and neither tried to interrupt it with a snarky comment. Investigating often did call for silence, and so long as they didn't have a direct need to speak neither felt inclined to begin another conversation.

After nearly a half hour of walking, Hermione got tired of following the blonde's straightforward light beam and began swiveling around to search for things. She had done so sporadically throughout the walk, but now she did so every few steps. A slow chill began working its way up her spine. She felt like she was being watched, and she didn't like it one bit.

And then, the invasive presence made itself known, and her mind blanched as an unknown voice began speaking inside her very mind.

_Hello, Hermione._

She screamed, searching in all directions for who had spoken. This voice had no similarity to Draco's and she didn't bother looking at him. The blonde did however take a quick note of her sudden panic and stepped closer, wand poised to fight whatever she now feared. He looked around twice with his wand illuminating a distance in front of him without seeing a thing. He finally placed a strong hand on the witches shoulder.

"Calm down, you're panicking," he said stupidly, glancing at her. "You're working yourself up; there's nothing near us right now."

Hermione certainly heard the blonde's voice, but it didn't calm her nerves. If he hadn't heard the words, then was it simply her imagination? It couldn't be though; not when she felt like something was forcing its way into her mind. The talent appeared to be so very much like Legilimency that she glanced sideways at the blonde again, her earlier thoughts poking about in her head. It was still something she needed to bring up.

When he was met with silence, he sighed. "I think it's time to go back. The atmosphere is getting to you, and I honestly don't need you freaking out on the way home. Let's go back to the Manor; we can try again some other time."

She certainly didn't like his dismissive tone, but none the less didn't argue. Her worn coat kept the cold away from her skin, but she was still covered in goose bumps now that she had heard the voice. He gave her a shove as he walked by, indicating that she needed to follow and not stand there. She followed behind him, putting a decent amount of space between them despite her panic. She really wanted to be right up next to him, just in case it happened again. Maybe he would hear something too.

They had only been walking a few minutes when it happened again, and she felt the blood leaving her body.

_Going so soon princess? It's a shame; we had so very much to discuss._

Again, the panic seeped in and she jumped, flailing her wand around spastically. The blonde spun around a moment later when she screamed, her wand falling on the outline of someone shrouded by the shadows. But in the faint glow of the wand, she could make out a vague human outline. But that wasn't what caught her attention.

It was the gleaming eyes that captured the light just perfectly. Those dead, gleaming, hungry eyes. Horror sank in as she realized they were the same eyes young Scorpius had.

The outline disappeared half a second later, apparently not interested in hanging around. Her breath came out unevenly as she attempted to calm herself, and a hand roughly grabbed her arm. She lurched around, oddly relieved when she found it to be Malfoy, but it did not settle her panicked nerves. Something in his eyes had changed as well, though she did not question it at the time. He pulled on her hard, forcing her to join in his steps as they began rushing back the way they had come, unknown fear eating at both of their hearts.

They didn't stop moving until they erupted out of the forest, the sweet protection of Malfoy Manor looming not too far off in the distance. The actually hurried up, panting in ill-fated attempts to catch their breath when they saw it. Neither stopped moving till they broke into the structure, collapsing into two heaps on the ground, gulping mouthfuls of air as they lay sprawled on the ground.

It wasn't that they were out of shape. It was the fact that they were attempting to stomach fear and horror as they ran.

He called out an elf's name as they slowly returned to normal, though she didn't hear the name nor did she glare at him disapprovingly. All she heard was that he wanted the wards around the Manor out to the gardens strengthened tenfold. Obviously, he saw something too.

Maybe he even heard something out there.

The elf was gone a moment later, and the blonde pulled himself onto one of the very expensive sofas in the space they had entered. She remained lying on the floor, hoping the odd phrases she heard out there were simply her imagination playing cruel tricks on her.

It was Draco that finally broke the silence, his mind spinning in circles. "I suppose you saw it too… that… outline."

She felt chilled by his words. Maybe her imagination wasn't at fault here after all. Sitting up, she placed her back against another sofa and looked up at him, nodding once.

"Yes… I was afraid of that." He rubbed his eyes, refusing to look at her. "Did you see it before then? Is that why you started screaming?"

Now she quieted. So he hadn't heard anything at all. "No," she replied, closing her eyes. "I heard something instead."

"Well that's something then. I say this calls for a drink Granger, and Merlin knows you look like you need one. Your nerves are on edge."

"I don't drink just for fun you know."

"I never said you did. I'm saying you need to relax a bit before we start talking. We're both on the edge at the moment."

"Indeed," she muttered, opening her eyes again. He was shutting the doors they had burst through, thoroughly checking that they were locked.

"I will check on Scorpius before we drink. The elves are securing the building as we speak, just as a precaution. I'll take you back to the sitting room you always enter through, and have one of the elves bring up a bottle. Then Granger, then I think we really need to talk."

She just nodded once, standing to follow him. It felt like she was made of lead as she moved. Whatever was out in those woods had her on edge, and the voice itself didn't help. That disturbing thing lurking just out of their view had to be responsible for those words that echoed in her head, right?

They walked up to the sitting room, and that was where he left her. He checked that his son was alright for a good many minute before he turned away, but he did not immediately head back to her. Instead, he made a detour to the rest room in between.

White knuckles gripped the sink as soon as the door banged shut. Looking in the mirror he could see that he was a hair paler than normal, and that his eyes were bright with curiosity- not fear. He was never afraid. Yet his complexion was not the reason he halted there, but in fact he stopped there in order to collect himself.

He sensed something in the woods out there before he had seen it, something evil. Yet when he went to pick through its mind he came across an impossible barrier, one he had never encountered on anyone else, save one. This was something that unsettled him, and it chilled his blood.

_Why couldn't I read its thoughts? Why couldn't I get inside its head?_

* * *

**A/n: **I hope you enjoyed! The middle section is from Scorpius' POV, if anyone is confused. Now darlings, do you have any thoughts? Let me know!


	9. The Eyes

**A/n:** Chapter nine here! I hope you have stuck around to this point, because things are just going to keep picking up between Hermione/Draco and also with Scorpius and the "Creature" lurking in the woods! Think you know what it is yet? Let me know after you read this new chapter! Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and** Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Eyes**

Drinking with Malfoy did little to calm her down. They spoke only briefly about what happened in the woods, dancing around the topic as much as possible. Mostly they sat in silence, staring at different objects as they each became lost in their own minds. Neither quite understood what had happened out there, just that it was unnatural. She departed three hours after midnight, having finished the entire bottle of liquor with him because of her nerves. He saw her to the fireplace for good measure, and they both agreed to take a break that night from searching. They needed some time to get their wits about them again.

When she arrived later to begin working on Scorpius again, she barely glanced the blonde's way. He sat in his usual spot upon arrival, staring at nothing. He barely acknowledged her presence, and for today she was perfectly fine with it. Even just looking at him made that bloody voice replay in her mind, speaking the same words.

_Hello, Hermione._

_Going so soon princess? It's a shame; we had so very much to discuss._

She didn't quite understand what the creature meant by that, much less how it knew her name. Nonetheless she did not sleep when she returned home, and instead sat with the lights on all night, searching the darkness for something dangerous. That outline- those eyes- would not stop popping into her mind anytime she saw a shadow.

It was certain now; she was terrified of what was out there. And her lack of sleep upon her return home that hours before showed through when she again arrived, the bags under her eyes dark. She didn't really care though, so long as she survived the night.

She wasn't going to get any sleep for a long time if she let herself continue to be scared like this.

Adam said nothing about her appearance until after they had reached the bedroom. He glanced up at her at some point and couldn't hold back the retort that slipped through his lips. "You look tired Hermione; spend too much time at the Manor last night?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes widened as fear began gripping her. Did he somehow know that they had been out there, searching the forest? "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied lamely, hoping he would say something more on the subject. Was he spying on them?

The man shrugged, continuing to study their patient. "Oh, nothing. I was simply wondering if your reason for being so tired was because you were here all night… fucking Malfoy."

Her eyebrows drew together. "Adam, you're sick. I wouldn't waste my time on the likes of him. The fact that you can even come to a conclusion as absurd as that shows how little you know about our backgrounds; he is an arrogant Pureblood prat, one who declares that everyone who is not the same blood status as he as inferior. And he really hates Mudbloods, as he calls them. To put it in crueler terms, that's what I am. Now why would he ever bother doing anything physical with me? You're off your rocker, and you need to get back on it. I do not take it lightly when someone insinuates that I sleep around, and I won't tolerate it from you either. Get that ridiculous idea out of your mind; there is no way that is possible. I don't know why you drew a conclusion like that, but it's incorrect."

Lincoln shrugged. "I don't much care about your blood backgrounds Hermione, though I already knew your standing with each other. That's simply my assumption, since you two are always so close." He shrugged, looking down at the little child again. "He is divorcing after all, so it's not unheard of that he would branch out and fuck whoever he can. When was the last time that you had a relationship- or even a hook up? Maybe it would be good for you."

Stopping her tests at that comment, she turned her wand up, angling it at him. "I don't much care what you think is good for me. Now stop bringing up your idiotic ideas, before I am forced to hex you. I won't tolerate this you know."

He smirked, ignoring her now. "Whatever you say Hermione. I was merely pointing something out."

She didn't ask him exactly what he meant by that, and chose to keep quiet instead, thinking his words over in her mind. He certainly seemed to be digging for some sort of information he himself did not have, but she wasn't sure what, or why.

They continued working up until lunch, making little progress as usual. She left the room first, tired of being in the moron's presence. Adam stayed back a few moments longer however, after she was gone.

He walked up and tapped the boy on the head, causing him to growl. A twisted grin slipped across his features as he looked down at the helpless child. "She is being too nosy, don't you think?" he asked, pulling his wand out. He waved it over the boy's body once, and he shuddered. With a smirk, the man reached up and undid two of the plugs to a simple machine they used, coating both plugs with a spell before he replaced them. Wizards could generate energy through their magic, and thus they could use a strange device like this to help certain patients. He smiled cruelly as he walked out the door.

He really shouldn't be tampering with the child's life, but he couldn't help it. He had greater forces to answer to than an angry witch, or even his boss, Mr. Williams.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly. Nothing new was discovered, and Adam managed to cloak the changes he had made to Hermione's spells and the machine. She never noticed, and he didn't care. The child's eyes might be full of fear now, but he just ignored looking into them. It was easier that way; he felt less guilt.

But his could not mess this up, and even if that meant hurting a helpless child, he would. He would just ignore his own actions.

She was just about to pack her things up for the day when Adam walked over to her, grabbing her arm to spin her into him. Her eyebrows drew together, a questioning look overtaking her features.

"What do you think you are doing?" she blatantly asked, shoving him away. The man looked very unfazed about her obvious distaste in being close to him, but it honestly didn't bother him when touching her wasn't the ideal purpose of his actions.

"You know," he began, ignoring her comment from before, "Frank is really considering repositioning you someplace else. He doesn't think it's good to have you around such supernatural experiences when all your solutions are of the supernatural nature. He's doubting your intelligence at this point."

Immediately, she noted the tone of his voice. It was icy, obviously intended to hurt her. And though she knew that had to be his intention, it didn't keep the small stab of anger away as he insulted her intelligence. He didn't have to make a comparison or even outright say it, but she could hear the distaste dripping with every word from his mouth. Whether this was really Frank's opinion or his own remained a mystery, but either way she didn't care. Clamping her jaw tight for a moment, she took a deep breath. He was poking at her for some reason, but why?

"I haven't heard anything about that," she replied evenly, looking at him once more. "He might've laughed at my idea, but if he really doubted my intelligence, he would have dismissed me from this entirely when we went to report to him. He wouldn't have wasted the time to pay me the extra income for going on house call every day. Someone else would be with you by now, and we both know it so please don't lie Adam. What are you trying to get at?"

The boy shrugged lamely, ignoring her eyes. "I thought you should know."

She huffed and turned away, but his words remained in her mind, stinging. Her solutions were really quite farfetched, weren't they? But if Adam and Frank had seen what she experienced with Malfoy out there in the woods, they would spin from skeptics to believers.

* * *

Sleep came with difficulty that night. The eerie voice replayed in her mind, the words bouncing around in her head as she fought for the relief of sleep. But after hours of tossing and turning that hope became futile, and she gave into the reality that she would likely get little sleep tonight.

That's how she ended up at her living room table, redoing the math again and again to see what she could cut from the budget this month to keep things going. Bills lay around her, the final notice stickers glaring angrily up at her. Oh if only she would put them into St. Mungo's where she could watch them, things would work better. But they did not favor the magical world, and she knew they would not want to wake up in that land. They would rather die in a muggle hospital than live in a magical one, and every day she reminded herself of that. Even when he was briefly awake those first few hours, he reminded her of their wishes. No magic meant death though, and she wasn't sure she could stomach that reality. They were too important.

_You're at Malfoy's all the time Hermione! Why don't you cut some of the budget for food and simply eat there? I'm sure he is going to have you back there as soon as possible to go searching again- despite what happened last time- so push him for food. It will allow for more money to go to them…_

_But then I will be relying on Malfoy, and that's not right either. I barely trust the man; I can't rely on him. _

She rubbed her forehead, knowing that wrinkles would begin to form the more she stressed out about things like this. She couldn't put off the truth forever, no matter how much she hated it. Even magic couldn't force someone out of a coma.

"_You're puzzling princess, more than you should. The wrinkles that will form from this stress shall tarnish your face of its natural beauty."_

Hermione jumped, letting out a small yelp at the voice. She looked around madly, gripping her wand with an iron fist with those words speaking to her. As she took in her living room again, her heart sank a degree. No one was there.

"_I wouldn't let you see me darling; that would be too daring. But your thoughts were giving me a headache, and I simply needed to silence them a bit. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"_

She felt her breath hitch. The voice- a very obviously male voice- spoke of wrinkles, just as she had been thinking moments ago. But how did it know her _thoughts_? How did it even get inside her head?!

"_I have my secrets, Hermione Granger. Secrets you need not understand. Just think a little less sweet princess, else you will give us both a headache."_

The girl felt an icy chill pass over her, and held her breath until the temperature around her became normal again. She waited with bated breath for the voice to say more, but nothing came. Letting out a huge sigh of relief that the moment was over, she collapsed back against the chair behind her. Now things were really getting creepy.

In the woods, Malfoy heard nothing when it came to a voice; he only saw the same shadowed figure that she did, and that was when they took off running. So why did it chose to speak to only her?

She got up slowly, chills running through her body. She no longer felt safe in her apartment. If the creature could so easily get past the barriers in her mind then physical wards could be just as easy to slip through. She lived alone without a cat that bothered to alert her of things anymore, and up until that moment things had never really fazed her. Now, she wished she had a roommate or someone; something to give her a reason to feel safe. Without the comfort of another person around, she felt vulnerable.

And if it decided to slip into her mind again, then she really didn't want to wait around and see what would happen. Scurrying back to her room quickly, she threw a few things into a bag and grabbed what she would need for tomorrow. There was no way she could remain there. Walking to the floo, she grabbed some powder and called out a destination. It was time to visit the muggle world again, and she knew exactly where to go for the night.

She knew it was time to visit them again, and again be harassed by doctors there who needed to be paid. Hopefully her worn green coat could shield the cold, and the hurt of returning. It never got any easier.

* * *

He never really felt the eyes on him, even as he dressed for the night. Peering out his window, he couldn't ever hope to see the creature. Draco had been sure to put up more wards throughout the day, attempting to shield his son from what hid in those trees.

He should've tried to figure it out sooner; now even Aurors didn't seem like such a bad choice. Draco needed to continue investigating out there, but if he continued to find strange, dangerous obstacles like last night then he had no hope of ever getting through the expanse of the woods. They were massive, and it would take a great deal of time to explore all of it and- only possibly- find what attacked his son. He couldn't exactly send Granger in a different direction, not after the strange experience they had just yesterday. He would not be responsible for her disappearance, or death.

Yet he would never have been able to see the figure even if he did turn and look out the windows, for now it hid too well behind the trees. They had been out prying in his territory, his property. And he did not appreciate the human interference. Now he would have to observe, and watch to see when they would foolishly try to explore next.

From those trees, a figure stepped up behind him. He did not fear the presence as it stood behind him, both sets of eyes now watching the distant dot of a blonde head, as the man prepared for bed. Soon darkness took over the room as well, signifying sleep. Yet he would not move; he would not stop watching until he knew their home was free of the invaders once more.

"You can't watch them forever; they are mortal. They have a tendency to pry where they don't belong."

He didn't look away from the darkened window, just simply reached back and patted the woman's small hand that had come to rest on his opposite elbow. "Patience Sarafene, I have my reasons for watching them."

"You don't have any," she remarked darkly. "That girl, that's who you're looking for. You dared to speak to her, and now you're looking for her again. It's unhealthy."

"Nothing is all that unhealthy for us," he replied lamely, unwilling to admit that he had spoken to her yet again that very night. "I'm just guarding the lands. They have never taken an interest in this place before."

The woman huffed, turning away from her partner. "Those are Malfoy men that spawn from that place you know. I used to tell stories about them; they are stubborn, and persistent. They will return to the woods."

He didn't respond as she walked away, the woods seemingly swallowing her up. He knew very well that they would return to the woods- hopefully together- and that's what he was waiting for. They had a score to settle.

_Just wait, Hermione Granger_.

* * *

Hermione was again late that morning. She woke up late at the hospital, and fled quickly to the nearest floo to get to the Manor. Unfortunately, she didn't wake up at the hospital that she worked at.

Adam had a fit the moment he saw her, again complaining about her careless nature involving the boy before them, and then he switched things around by returning to the degrading topic from yesterday. She couldn't stand it, and left him to watch the boy for a few moments so she could go in search of his father.

Oddly enough, she found him sitting in the library she could now find all by herself, another man sitting across from him. She recognized him as Blaise Zabini the closer she got, and it was the Italian that noticed her presence first.

"Healer Granger," he said cordially, surprising her by using such a formal greeting. She nodded towards him, unable to muster a word in response. She had expected some sort of cold sentence that did not go on from there, and would leave her with only Malfoy to speak to.

The blonde in question had a bottle of liquor beside him as usual. She arched an eyebrow, wondering if his night had been long too.

She had a feeling though that his had been difficult in very different ways.

"I heard about what happened last night," she began, squashing the elephant in the room as quickly as she could. Now the topic was out in the open, and she could see his expression hardening as she spoke. "I wish I had been around to help. No one paged me in-"

"He didn't want to," the blonde snapped, looking up to meet her eyes. There was a hurt there that she was all too familiar with; she understood how it felt to watch someone you love suffer. "There was nothing you could've done by being present Granger. Scorpius' condition will continue to worsen as the days go on. You should've noticed that this morning."

Hermione glanced away. "I did. I just don't understand what changed in the course of a night that is different from any other."

"I have no idea," Draco hissed, snatching the bottle in front of him up, tipping his head back to gulp down quite a bit of it. He slammed it back onto the table, meeting the eyes of his friend briefly. "I was alerted last night by a house elf, and nothing has improved from there."

The girl looked away completely. This morning Adam had been worse than normal, but she didn't need to ask why. He had been working since two the previous night, and had yet to get any sleep. But a fluctuating heartbeat on a child was something to be extremely worried about, and more Healers were on call just in case something started going downhill. She hoped for the sake of all the Malfoy's that nothing got any worse. More than ever she felt inclined to do as much research as possible to help the boy.

She assumed that was why Blaise had come over, whenever he had come over. Draco's mindset couldn't be fantastic, now that more problems were appearing. That was the last thing the man needed, and Hermione knew it would again eat at his subconscious. He never said so, but she knew he had to feel at fault for this. It was his son that got hurt after all.

Blaise and Draco continued to speak for many minutes, and she quickly found an excuse to go looking for some more research. It was getting crucial to find a solution to the problem, and aside from that, she didn't really want to be in the middle of the former Slytherin's conversation. Merlin knew what they would discuss at a time like this. She found herself walking back down into the lowest part of the library, away from the table entirely. When she returned a few minutes later with a single book, Malfoy was alone.

"He has to go talk to his daughter," the blonde said, answering the question in her eyes as she walked over. "She heard me talking last night when I flooed Blaise, and she panicked. He needs to go see her now."

Hermione nodded, avoiding responding. She didn't have children or a husband, and didn't know what that burden felt like. She was no one's mother after all, only a daughter. She opened the book and began searching for something useful, but the blonde's hand quickly came down in the middle of the page, obscuring her view. She glanced up at him with hooded eyes.

"Tonight," he said, drawing her attention, "Tonight, we have to go again. My son is getting worse by the minute, and I know that the answer has to be out there someplace. If you could be pulled away now I would, but I don't want your partner wondering about what we are doing."

She felt dread seeping over her at the thought of going back. She still hadn't informed anyone that she was now having a voice invade her thoughts and put its two cents in, let alone Malfoy. The last thing she wanted to do right now was go back there.

"Shouldn't you be watching your son?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her. "If things are getting worse-"

"Don't go there!" He slammed his hand down on the table, causing it to shake, and with it, the bottle. It tumbled off the side it had been barely hanging onto, shattering on the floor. He wearily rubbed his head as things grew silent again, and she cleaned up the mess without being asked. She knew he was having a hard time deciding what to do in this situation.

"If you don't want to come tonight, don't," he said, glancing away. "I'm going back out there though; I need to figure out what's happening to my son. If you want to research out there, come with me tonight. If you won't go back after that incident, don't bothering returning today once your shift is over. You won't talk me out of going back Granger. I will not let him die when the solution to everything might be just outside my door."

She looked at him, trying to read the emotions on his turned head; there were none. He was masking his feelings, just as he had done back in school. The protective barrier was there to stay, and she assumed he would not let emotion out until either a solution came, or his son died. It was a dreadful thought, but one that made sense nonetheless. He had always been stubborn.

"I guess I'll see you tonight then," she replied, stomaching her fear. It seemed like a very bad idea to send him off alone, even if she herself didn't want to go back. She could always try owling Blaise, but didn't think he would really like that. She would have a fit if someone started revealing her secrets to others, and she got the feeling that he treated this as a secret matter. Even if she didn't want to go back out, she didn't quite want to send him alone then.

He looked back, nodding once. "I'm glad to hear it Granger."

* * *

Again, the eyes watched the giant structure before him. He watched with peaked interest as two small forms appeared from the structure, obviously exiting it. He watched the duo walk past the strange wards now placed on the Malfoy home, each of them passing through with ease.

_Interesting._

They were the same as before; a boy and a girl. The Malfoy boy and Hermione Granger. He didn't know the boys first name; he hadn't bothered looking through his mind last time. Sure, he knew that the man sensed he was there, but nothing telepathically passed between them. Perhaps he would have to look into him as well tonight, instead of just the woman following at his side.

_They make the strangest couple. _

He was certain that they were married; why else would they live together? Yet he never saw them in the bedroom together, sleeping together. He didn't quite understand. They didn't seem very in love, and he didn't guard her very much. He wondered why the brunette stayed with him.

But maybe if he continued digging through her mind, he would understand the situation.

They entered the forest on the opposite side he resided in, disappearing into the trees. Glancing up from his position, he locked eyes with one of his own. A quick nod confirmed that he also saw the intruders, and then the glittering eyes disappeared.

Tonight, they fully intended to mark their territory and make sure the morals stopped trespassing on their land.

* * *

**A/n: **Dark, dark chapter! Review. If you guys didn't know this before, I like dark, twisted, scary stories :) Now do you have any thoughts on this? Let me know!


	10. The Binds

**A/n: **It's late, I know darlings. My great-grandmother died this past weekend, so I haven't really been motivated to write. But I sat down today- because I had the day off- and this chapter came to be. It's actually not what I planned at all, but I like it. Hope you do too! I also hope you darlings can forgive me for being late! Thanks to my amazing betas **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Binds**

Shivers coursed through Hermione again as the trees closed in around them. Perhaps last time their minds had been a bit over reactive over whatever they saw, but it did nothing to ease her mind. She hovered right behind Draco, barely allowing air to pass between them. Maybe the voice she kept hearing was a figment of her imagination as well, and if she stayed close to the blonde the thoughts wouldn't return. She didn't really believe any of that, but it was nice to consider as they walked.

"You're walking quite close tonight Granger," he said after some time, glancing over his shoulder as spoke. She backed off slightly, having not realized she was practically on top of him.

"Sorry, I guess my mind is someplace else."

"Well refocus it here," he said, turning away again. "We don't know what's out here, but it will be helpful if you have all your wits about you."

She pressed her lips together, fighting down a retort. The pair continued together until they came to a fork in the road, and Draco paused.

"We went left last time," he remembered, dropping a hand to rub his head. In the light of her own wand she could see that his hands were paler than normal. Perhaps he was afraid as well. "This time, we should try exploring right."

"Whatever you say," she agreed, unwilling to argue. This was his land; he may as well make the directional decisions. But if he led them back to that horrific creature again, she was not going to let him lead the way anymore. For now though, she needed to let her emotions cool down, and settled for the blonde leading the way.

The pair continued to walk, and Hermione finally putting some decent space between them. The path was beginning to widen when those chills returned to her body, accompanied by a familiar voice.

"_You're treading on dangerous land Princess. Turn back."_

Hermione jumped at the sound, pressing her lips firmly together to suppress a yelp as she rushed forward and snatched the blonde's hand. He spun around, looking at her strangely.

"Are you alright?"

She closed her eyes, irritated again. He still wasn't hearing a damn thing. It had to all be in her head.

"_Go now, Hermione Granger. Leave this place before you make us angry."_

The girl continued to grasp his hand, spinning around in search of a source. Her mind worked a mile a minute, trying to figure out what to do with what was being told to her. So maybe it wasn't just her mind playing tricks. Maybe something dangerous really was out there, and she should heed its word.

She watched as the blonde's head whipped around suddenly, grasping the side of his face as he surveyed their surroundings as well. His features appeared scrunched up, as though a headache was now plaguing his mind.

"Are _you_ alright?" she asked in return, watching him look over the space. His calm composure was no longer there, and he looked very on edge at this point.

"Fine," he hissed, letting go of her hand. "I was wrong," he continued, beginning to backtrack. "We need to go the other way."

"Why?" she asked again, eyebrows shooting up. Perhaps he did hear voices.

But Draco just shook his head and spun away. "Don't ask questions- let's just go back."

She remained where she was standing for a moment, watching him retreat. Something certainly was spooking the boy, but what, she didn't know. Vaguely, she recalled that just a few days prior she had wanted to discuss if the man was a Legilimens. Now she was more curious than ever, since he appeared to grasp his scalp as though a sudden pain had taken over. The brunette was about to take off after him when her breath caught in her throat.

A hand locked around her neck, the owner an unknown threat. She had not heard anyone approaching, and now that something had gotten its claws around her so easily fear swept over her. How could she be so careless so quickly? Just a moment ago she had been very alert.

The grip tightened, and she felt her airway cutting off. Ahead of her Draco was still retreating quickly down the long path, unknowing that the girl he brought with was being strangled by an unknown intruder. She angled her wand to attack the person with a silent spell, but fast reflexes from another… hand, perhaps- knocked the item from her grip. She gasped, choking, and the soft sound seemed to draw the blonde's attention in the silent woods. She distantly saw the figure turning around in front of her, but she was too far away to see the expression on his features. She did see him quickly accelerating towards her though.

As quickly as the grip appeared, it was gone, and she fell to the ground with a thud, gasping to refill her airways. Behind her, she thought she heard people shuffling around for a moment before the noise was gone. Draco was near now, and she could see horror taking over all of his face. Something was terrifying the blonde out of his wits, and she was interested to know what it was.

_Run._

The voice echoed in her mind again. She almost had her breath back when Draco came up to her, dragging her ruthlessly to her feet. "Get up," he gasped, and the voice was barely audible, even in the quiet world. He held out his hand and a moment later her wand appeared in his grip as he attempted to steady her. "We're leaving- now!"

"What's going on?" she asked, as he grabbed her hand again and pulled her away from the scene. Snatching her wand from his hand- despite how lightheaded she felt- she lit it and glanced back, even as they got further away. She saw nothing.

"I don't know," he panted, accelerating with every step. "But I'm not going to stand here and figure it out right now."

She trailed behind him, his grip painfully tight on her wrist. As they ran, she noted that he was grasping his head again, his wand angled to light their path. He was acting strange, and she wanted to know why just as soon as they got away from whatever _that_ was.

"_Don't return here Princess. Next time we shall not be as forgiving."_

The girl didn't try to look around for the voice; she wasn't sure she wanted to find the owner anymore.

"_Check those in your home, Hermione Granger. All is not safe when you go tampering with things that should be left alone. Stop avoiding the problem before you, and help him. He shall need it in the coming days."_

Blinking, she continued to let Malfoy drag her along. Not only did she not appreciate having her mind invaded, but she did not enjoy these riddles either. Did the voice mean Malfoy, or someone else? She lived alone; there were no boys at her house.

She stopped thinking, making sure she was very alert now. She didn't want anything sneaking up on her again, and until the protective wards of the Manor closed around them she didn't think she had enough time to think about things. When they were safely concealed, she would have to consider everything that happened on this short trip.

None of these trips had proven to be very productive.

* * *

He checked her neck twice, wincing at the marks.

"That bad?"

"Well, they aren't very becoming Granger." They were sitting in his living room, the girl having already surveyed her neck once. She didn't want to look at it, not really. The skin was incredibly sensitive and spells did little to get rid of bruises. Now she would have some bloody marks on her neck for the next several days until they faded away. Concealment charms were going to be her best friend.

"They are oddly shaped," she continued, touching the skin of her neck again. The finger marks were unusual, long, with something adjacent to nails having left small punctures along the surface of her neck. Malfoy had healed those easily enough before she got a chance to look, and now she wished he had left them alone. More than anything right now, she wanted to study them.

"I know," he grumbled, standing up. They had arrived back at the Manor barely an hour ago, and since then neither adult had calmed down. He continued cracking his knuckles each time he stepped away from her, as though this was a stress relief. She watched him repeat the pattern, saying nothing. She didn't really know what to do- or say- right then. She had that voice replaying in her mind.

"I'm going to check on my son," he said, interrupting any thoughts the brunette may have had. She waved him off, knowing now would be a good time to check on the boy from a Healer's perspective, but she doubted she would be any use just then. He shrugged and left her alone, the girl barely glancing up at his departure.

Draco gripped his head the entire time he walked towards his son's room. His head felt as though it was about to burst, but that was the least of his worries. Bracing the wards in his mind to keep out intruders had been difficult out there, but he managed it. Surveying Granger on the way home, he wondered if she had the ability to do so. And if she did not, then what was she hearing out there? He intended to ask.

Scorpius seemed much the same to his father as he reached out to brush the child's hair. The adult didn't need to tell the elves to leave them alone and now in the silence of the room he felt his heart breaking a bit again. The whole point of endangering himself by going out to the forest was to find an answer to what happened to the child, but each time he was interrupted by something disturbing that lurked in the shadows there. He shuddered at the memory of turning around and witnessing a suspended Granger hovering above the ground, something inhumanly pale- much like himself- choking her from behind. He recalled the same glittering eyes from before, watching him now with intensity, as though something was checking to see if he would do anything about this attempted murder. He didn't understand the motionless figure as he ran towards it, intent on saving his son's Healer. Did the creature really intend to only watch and see if he would save her, or was there an underlying message there that he continued to miss?

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, stroking the child's hair. The boy struggled against his binds, tearing the father's heart apart as he watched his son fight to no avail to get free. How could he do this to him? Dimly, he noted that there appeared to be red marks in the light on his skin, as though the binds were too tight. He bent a bit closer.

_What's this? _

Peering closer at his son, he noted something else clearly disturbing. His eyes widened as he brushed the long hair his child adored away from the boy's neck, peering down at the horror opening before him. His opposite hand came up and rested lightly on the old wound of his own, the unknown marks on his neck. As his mind began racing, he spun away and quickly moved to the door.

"Granger!" he called down the hall, "I have something you need to see!"

* * *

"They're just like yours," she said in awe, looking between the two Malfoy men. Hermione couldn't believe her eyes when she walked in and observed the same bite marks on Scorpius Malfoy's neck that mirrored the wounds his father had gotten days before. It was almost unbelievable. "I wonder how this happened."

"Yes, so do I," the blonde seethed from her side. She knew he was unhappy to discover that _something_ or_ someone_ had harmed his child yet again, and this time in the same sort of way he had been hurt. And the last time he acquired those fang-like bite marks, he couldn't' recall how they came to be. Did his son even recall what happened?

Draco leaned over his son's bed. "Why won't you talk?" he said tiredly, sighing in defeat. "Why won't you speak to me- us? We could help you Scorp, you just have to give us the chance."

She watched him softly brush the child's hair, her mind working slowly. "He's probably scared of the conditions he is living in."

The blonde spun around, glaring daggers at her. "Yes, I would assume so. But it was you bloody Healers after all that reasoned that he needed to be bound down. This is not my fucking decision."

Slowly, she held her hands up. "I understand," she said quickly, knowing that the blonde could get very defensive when it came to his son. "I never said this was your call. I'm simply saying that with whatever is going on with his body, on top of new faces and new procedures with what he can't and can do- like move off a bed- he's probably completely freaked out for a little boy Malfoy. I wouldn't speak either."

"Then take the binds off," he argued, pointing at the machine that operated the binds around his son. "I don't want him scared Granger. This might go against your protocol from what you should do under these conditions, but I don't care. You and that bloody co-worker of yours, Lincoln, have accomplished nothing in the time you have been here, short of your bloody vampire theory. And guess what? I wouldn't call your idea so far-fetched anymore after what we encounter in the woods! After these bite marks on my neck, and those strangle marks on yours, nothing seems too unorthodox to be realistic anymore. I don't even know what to think about this anymore." He took a step closer to her. "But I do know what I think about my son, and after what we just escaped in the woods I would say a four year old boy is nothing too dangerous to handle. I say those initial Healers sent here are cowards, binding a little boy. And you're just as awful to keep following this procedure, and so am I. But I'm sick of it Granger. I'm sure after everything we can survive this. Now take the fucking binds off; let my son breathe. If being bound to a bed is doing nothing to improve his current condition, then it does no good at all. Remove them."

Hermione was a bit stunned by how angry he sounded. She knew he hated this treatment, but until now she had never heard him speak so outright about things and his son in general- or at least to her. Obviously the woods were having an effect on him in more than just one way, and she wasn't entirely sure it was good for any of them. Nonetheless, she couldn't argue that she didn't agree with this treatment either.

"If I take the binds away, I can't monitor his health without attaching something to him again, else at least casting a few spells," she said slowly, holding up her hands. "When Adam arrives in the morning, he shall be livid about this-"

"I could give a fuck less about him," Draco retorted.

She shrugged. "My point is, this won't blow over easy. Adam is hard-headed, even more so than me, and he won't adjust to this abrupt change. He will try and force me to put the binds back on with him."

"I'll handle him for you if you want Granger, but please hurry up. If I knew how to take the binds off without destroying that blasted machine and possibly harming my son, I would've done it by now. I don't care what he has to say, and I'm fully prepared to tell him to fuck off if he has an issue with it. Now, please, just remove the binds."

The girl relented, glancing away from the blonde. She knew at some point this conversation would come up. The binds might be there for the protection of everyone, but she very well knew a father would not see them as such. He had to hate them as much as his son did. But the problem was that she didn't know what the boy would be like when released, and she wasn't in the mood to be cut up after the terrifying event in the woods, _again_. However, if she waited until morning it would be too close to the time Adam would arrive, and they both knew it would cause more problems.

Hermione looked over at him. "Just stand back. We don't know what's going to happen, so we better be safe Malfoy. I'm not asking you to hex your son, so don't give me that look. I'm just saying put up a protective barrier if he seems angered at all; we don't exactly know what those nails and teeth will do on a small boy, though I'm sure they can do some damage." He nodded once, not even looking at her now. His eyes remained completely focused on Scorpius, unwilling to look away. She just hoped he had paid enough attention to her words to be somewhat prepared.

She moved to the opposite side of the bed, immediately putting up a barrier. She was close enough after all for those talons to just reach out and cut her, and as the only Healer in the room it seemed logical for her to remain unharmed. It seemed doubtful that the blonde adult in front of her would know enough healing spells to save her life anyway. Flicking her wand a few times and muttering the spells beneath her breath, she watched the binds disappear into the air, and the boy sprang into a sitting position, eyes looking around fearfully. Alarm bells rang in her head as his eyes- eyes that were so much like his father's-melted into the glittering orbs that they encountered in the forest some nights ago. Glancing at Malfoy, she could see the same terror taking over his features. Well that wasn't good.

The child jumped off the bed, and though she took a step away Malfoy remained in the exact same spot, not bothering to put up any form of protection. It was bothersome to see someone so young walking with a hunch, but she thought perhaps that was something new about his body was well; those talons certainly weren't there when he was born.

Instead of the rambunctious child she heard stories about from the first day, the boy was very calm. She watched him walk around slowly, sniffing the air. The actions didn't make much sense to her, but then, she supposed they weren't meant to. Her theory rang in the back of her head, but she shushed her own thoughts. No notes right now; she wanted to watch with only her eyes. After all, if this were to be a tender moment between father and son, she thought it best not to interrupt it with the shuffling of paper.

And if it was to be vicious, she could at least be prepared to help Malfoy, hypnotized by his son's strange physique. Nothing had really changed aside from the few things she noted already, but internally she knew there were differences now. She just didn't understand them yet.

"Scorpius," Malfoy said, breaking her scattered thoughts. Her eyes focused in on the adult across the room from her, his expressions masked as usual. He was walking slowly, matching the uneven steps of his son as he crossed the floor. "Scorpius, it's just me, father."

She wrinkled her nose. The term _father_ seemed so formal. But aside from that, she could hear the desperation in his voice, and her heart went out to him just a tad. He was clinging to strings, hoping against hope that he could break through to his son now, when everything so far since the attack seemed to do nothing to help the young boy.

"It's just me," he whispered again when the boy stopped walking. She tensed at that, watching those inhuman eyes study the man speaking. She wanted to know what was going on in that little head- not just so that she could understand the process unfolding before her very eyes- so that she could know whether or not to be concerned about the boy attacking. Hermione couldn't just stand back and watch Malfoy get shredded while he tried to have a one-sided conversation with his son. She didn't think that would help very much. "It's just me."

She wished she understood what the child was thinking.

Malfoy knelt down until he rested on his knees, and she took a step forward. This seemed like a dangerous move to her, but he had other ideas. Without even looking her way, he held up a hand as a sign for her to stop walking. She did so, though it seemed like a foolish idea. Nonetheless, she would trust Malfoy with this child for a second.

"It's just father," he said again, extending a hand now to the suddenly timid offspring. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Those big eyes studied the man. She couldn't read the expression there either.

"Just me." Draco extended a hand, and in that moment his son chose to move. Lashing out, Scorpius' long nails cut the extended palm, causing blood to swell up there. Unlike the first time his son cut him, the man didn't flinch. He vaguely saw the girl in the corner tense, but he wasn't about to have her interfere, not when this was the closest he had been to his son in weeks.

One of those sharp hands remained nearby, and he snatched it up in his own bloodied grip, Granger's reminder to keep his wand ready echoing in his head, but he did not tighten his hold there. "Just me Scorpius. Just Daddy."

He thought for a moment that his son would lash out again- this time at his face- but nothing of the sort happened. Eyes widened for a brief moment, before the lingering thread of childhood innocence shone in the small boys eyes, glittering or not.

"Daddy?"

And to her side, she stood perplexed as the little boy stepped forward and hugged his father, small nails appearing to dig into his father's skin. And if the older man minded, he never showed it.

She backed away slightly from the precious scene, turning away to allow some privacy. If that was the first time Malfoy had been able to hug his son in weeks, then who was she to look on at the scene? She could talk to him in a bit, when things settled down, but before Adam arrived.

As she reached for the door handle that same voice began talking in her head, but for once there was a softer undertone to the usually cool voice.

_You're making progress little Princess. _

And maybe if she had turned around before opening the door, she would've seen the blonde's eyes fly open, the same words echoing in his mind as he gripped the small boy tighter.

* * *

Later, she sat alone in the blonde's living room, the bedroom having been reserved for family only. He didn't ask for her to leave really, but she felt that the family deserved privacy. She had fallen asleep at some point, and just woke up several minutes before and recalled everything that happened last night. It seemed that more happened now during the night than the day.

Glancing at the time, alarm set in. Adam would be arriving in only twenty minutes- if that- and if Malfoy and his son were parading around the room then things might get out of hand. She knew that the blonde wanted to handle Adam, but maybe it would be best to leave things a secret between them for now. After all, the blonde was the only one who really had any time with the boy. Who knew if he would be as accepting to other people?

Unhappily, she made her way back to the bedroom. It was kind of heartbreaking to go and ruin such a sweet family moment, but it had to be done. She really needed to talk to the older man as it was, considering that they had such a mass amount of questions now. And on top of that, she was dying to know if he really was a Legilimens. It would explain a lot of things after all.

But those weren't important things at the moment. Right now, she just needed to make sure that Adam didn't have a fit. If she knew anything about her co-worker, it was that he did not like it when people snuck around behind his back. Knocking on the door, she didn't wait for a response and barged in, worried about time.

Scorpius scurried back behind his father's form when she appeared. The usually hostile figure of a small child was now replaced, and it was surprising how simply removing a restriction could make the boy seem so loveable again. But looks could be deceiving, and on quick glance in Malfoy's direction told her that her presence was not appreciated.

Clearing her throat, she focused her attention on the unhappy parent. "We need to talk a moment."

"Can't it wait?" he snapped, and she could see despair clouding his eyes. That took her aback, considering how little she saw of real emotion from the blonde. But apparently even the idea of leaving his son now was tragic, and she suspected that the only reason she saw that betrayal of emotion was because his son was there, and he was vulnerable at the time because he could actually hold the boy.

She shook her head once, ignoring the guilt that was quickly clouding her head. "It can't Malfoy," she said, looking again at the young boy. "It's important, and it will only take a moment."

He grumbled, and beneath his breath the man said something she didn't understand, but his son's ears seemed to twitch at the word. "Fine," he relented, standing, and the moment he did so the boy at his side jumped forward, attaching himself to the adult's leg.

"Don't go," he said quietly, though the words were a bit slurred. If she looked at the boys' mouth as he spoke, she would've noted the way his vampiric teeth cut into his lip when his mouth moved. "Don't go."

Now why did he hold off speaking for so long? As far as she knew, Scorpius wasn't even speaking to his father since the attack, not until today.

"I'll just be a moment," he assured, reaching down to ruffle the boy's hair. Her eyebrows shot up, multiple questions dancing in her head. The two acted so natural, yet the circumstances were anything but. "I promise."

It took several more tries to convince the boy, and the longer it took the more Hermione's worry increased. When Draco did finally end up leaving his son to follow her into the hall, a scowl had taken over his features.

"You have to do this now? Merlin Granger, I've been waiting for a chance to hug my son and speak with my son again, and now an opportunity arises and here you are ruining it. What is so important anyway?"

She frowned as he lectured her. He may have been concerned about her health hours ago, but now he seemed to want to get away from her as quickly as possible, and she wasn't enjoying his new attitude one bit. She was there to help after all, and so far she thought she was doing at least a fairly decent job.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said sarcastically, too tired to try and be the civil one in this mess. "But Adam will be arriving soon, so I think it might be in your best interest to put Scorpius back in the bed, at least until he leaves."

Immediately, she saw the fury clouding his eyes. "I will do no such thing! I finally have my son with me, and I refuse to put him back the same way."

She shook her head. "He's not as forgiving about things Malfoy, he won't understand-"

"I told you, I'll handle him."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she snapped. "I'm concerned about all the loose ends we have with things, from the bite marks on the both of your necks to the bruises on mine. We can't just expect all those things to go unnoticed forever. Adam is a jerk, but he's observant- and more so, he likes to get ahead. Trust me, if he sees that I'm not doing my job and Scorpius is out of bed, not only will he report me to St. Mungo's and get me fired, but he will also probably try to get your son away from this place. He will come up with some sort of ridiculous reasoning for everything Malfoy, so long as it benefits him. So long as something is done behind his back, he will go to any extreme to ruin that person. Trust me on this; I've seen it happen at work with him. I just never expected I would have a situation like that with him here, when the case was so strange. He will make things more difficult Malfoy, so please just help me here. I'll stay and help you get Scorpius off the bed later. But for now, we really just need to keep as much from him as possible."

"You're delirious," he argued, stepping closer to growl in her face. "You think that I will do that to my son-"

He paused as the floo roared to life off in the living room, and they both held their breath as someone stepped out, paused for a moment, and began walking. They held eyes briefly as the steps grew closer, and then he looked away to spot someone familiar.

"Merlin's balls, what happened to the two of you?"

* * *

**A/n: **Thoughts? Do you think Draco will let Hermione bind his son again? Let me know :)


	11. The Plan

**A/n: **Alright I have to admit I really like this chapter, especially the end! Dark, dark, dark! I hope you guys like it and please leave a review at the bottom if you have the time :) You guys are awesome! Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and **Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Plan **

"Blaise," Draco said tensely, leaning to the side as though to block Hermione from view. The marks on her were obviously drawing the attention of the Italian, and he didn't like it. He didn't want questions. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I thought I would come and see you," he began, still eyeing the woman, "But it appears you already have some company. You seem to be here early this morning Granger."

She shrugged. "I was called in."

He didn't seem to believe her lie one bit, but shrugged it off and refocused his attention on his friend. "Can we have a word?" he asked, his tone coming out harshly. The pair exchanged a glance at this, and Draco wondered if she would just take the initiative while he was gone and bind his son.

"Of course," he agreed lightly, ignoring the woman's concerned look. As he brushed past her, he wondered if perhaps he should be more concerned about what she might do.

Hermione watched the pair go before she sighed and walked briskly back into Scorpius' room. The child sat away from her against the far wall, large eyes looking up at her. They were filled with distrust, but he didn't look frightened when she shut the door. Sighing at her predicament, she wondered how difficult it would be to get him to let her bind him back to the mattress.

_He shall be resilient sweet princess. But he does not fear you. So don't fear him._

She felt the usual shivers racing down her back. How did this voice know if that was true? A thought occurred to her, and she wasted barely a moment considering it before putting it into action.

"_And how would you know?"_

The response came instantaneously, and she was surprised that it gave her a response at all.

_I know more than you would think. Trust me, Hermione Granger; it is safe for you to help._

The girl wasn't sure if she should really be trusting a voice that spoke to her often and never explained itself, and did little to assist her in dire situations out in the forest, but decided that she would at least have to get Scorpius back the way he was. Adam would be arriving any minute, and she couldn't be caught trying to maneuver the child back onto the bed.

Holding up her hands, she took a step towards the child. "Easy Scorpius," she said, placing a smile on her features, "I won't hurt you, I promise."

* * *

"You better have a good fucking explanation to this," Blaise spat, pacing the room.

"Blaise, I didn't choke her," Draco argued, running fingers through his hair. "I didn't touch her!"

"So who did then?" Blaise pressed. "Even if you don't care about her enough to care that someone may have tried to strangle her, the least you can do is convince her to put a concealment spell over the bruises so people don't ask questions." The man shook his head. "And why is she even here this early? I know those bloody Healers have a tendency to arrive early, but this seems a bit ridiculous. And where is that partner of hers?"

The blonde rubbed his temples, forcing himself to stay calm and not murder his friend. "I don't know where her fucking partner is, but I have no complaints if he chooses to not show up today. I can't stand him. She's here this early because I asked her to come by, because I am worried about my _son_." He made sure he said the last word forcefully. "And you know me better than that Blaise! I would never strangle a girl, let alone a helpful one. I never touched my wife; I'm not going to harm Granger. I might've had my problems with her in the past, but it wouldn't cloud my judgment."

His friend pursed his lips. "Look Draco, I'm just concerned. You haven't quite been in your right mind since… since Scorp got hurt. I'm making sure that you aren't doing anything rash-"

"Well you can stop," he snapped angrily. "I am not a child. I don't need you watching me like one. I am a grown adult now and I will judge whether or not I think I am handling things well."

Blaise sighed, looking away. "If you say so mate. I only meant to help."

"I know you do," his friend agreed, wandering now that Blaise stood still. "But I didn't strangle her. I can honestly say I don't know what did that."

Instantly his friend's eyes narrowed to slits. "What do you mean by 'what'?"

He shrugged. "She never explained them to me. I have no idea what caused them to end up there- what actions. I'm sure she will hide them though before that partner of hers arrives; she doesn't seem to trust him all that much. He won't see them at least, and I will press her later to see if she will tell me." He knew though that she wouldn't tell him anything, not when neither of them knew what was going on.

Slowly, his friend relented. "If you say so Draco. But just be careful. Don't try to take too many problems up on your shoulders right now. I don't quite think you would be able to handle all of it."

The blonde wanted to retort to that, but held his tongue. He did not want to start anymore banter if his friend was finally calming down. "So what are you doing here exactly?"

The Italian pursed his lips before replying. "Astoria has been lingering at our house since last night Draco. Pansy doesn't want to throw her out; she thinks she looks very desperate and confused, and I believe she is. You know that the Greengrass family is all but gone aside from the sisters and your son, so she doesn't really have anyone to turn to. Daphne and Marcus decided to go on a trip apparently, and they did not invite your wife along. She is lingering there Draco, speaking to my daughter just so she can try to get you to come see her. She might have money at the moment, but I think she is getting concerned that you're actually going through with the divorce since you have yet to come and bring her home." He wrinkled his nose. "You are still going through with the divorce, aren't you?"

Draco scoffed. "I sent the paperwork in a few days ago. Astoria signed it ages ago during one of our fights, and I found the document while getting things in order one day when the Healers were here. Looks like her spouts of anger are going to finally backfire on her. It should all be through in about a week. Now did you come here to tell me this so that I would go and remove her from your home?"

"You only have to do that if you want," the Italian muttered. "Pansy thinks it's just _awful _what the two of you are going through, and she's trying to help your ridiculous wife cope with things. Even if you tell her to leave us alone Pansy is going to continue attempting to help her until she thinks that she's alright to go back into the real world. Do you even realize how much money you're going to lose because of this?"

He chuckled. "I won't lose that much Blaise, not even half. When Scorpius was born we agreeably signed a paper so that the majority of the money I have now goes to my heir. And since in divorce you are only required to relinquish so much, I'll give her enough to live on for a little while until she finds some other poor sap to take her on as a wife. But I'm not giving her enough to live on for the rest of her life."

"Good," he agreed. "She doesn't deserve it, not after how awful she has always been."

"No, she doesn't. But good luck with her though; I'm sure she will cling to Pansy for help as long as possible until she finds another man to cling to." His tone didn't come out angry, just tired. It was easy to tell that he didn't have any fight left in him for this. "I'm just finished with her. I'm done with all the hassle. The faster she is out of my life the better."

Blaise nodded before clasping his hands together. "There is another reason I came by today as well."

"I assumed as much. I doubted you came by to tell me so useless gossip that could've been shortly explained in a letter."

"Indeed. See, it's about my daughter Lizzy. She's very antsy to see Scorpius again Draco, and frankly, so am I. Is he doing alright?"

The blonde smiled, fondly remembering the memory of finally holding his son in his arms again. "It's slowly getting better Blaise. But I don't think it's safe yet to have Lizzy coming by. It's still not all understood, but we're beginning to figure things out." By now though, he was sure that Granger would have the poor child tied back down to the bed. He never had a chance to finish arguing that with her actually, and he would need to be speaking to her about it.

"We?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. "You're actually involving yourself somewhere in this process?"

"I am. I've just been helping them find some books in my library, but it's helping Blaise. Whatever I can do to help my son get better, I'll take it."

"I suppose I would too-"

He cut off as they heard a loud thud in the distance, and glancing at the clock Draco realized they had been speaking for a half hour. The pair exchanged a glance before a scream followed the sound, and then they were quickly marching out the door to investigate. It sounded like a girl's scream, and since the blonde already had a bad opinion on dear Adam he wasn't sure he was going to like this. The man had to be there by now.

As they got closer, they could hear someone speaking. "… careless disregard for safety! You're probably hurting him more than you're helping him! What kind of sabotage is this? You're twisted Adam! He's just a little kid, he has no defenses."

Draco quickened his pace at that, turning a corner ahead of Blaise to find Adam slumped against the hallway wall outside of the door to Scorpius' bedroom, and Hermione standing in the doorway with her wand drawn. Distinctly he could see the thin trail of blood falling from her hairline, and drew his own as he stepped closer.

"It's a blatant disregard for anyone's safety! No wonder nothing is improving; you haven't been letting it get better!"

"What's going on?" Draco interrupted before she could shout again. He glanced between the pair, feeling the presence of Blaise behind him. This didn't look good.

She barely glanced his way. "Oh, why don't you ask Adam? He's the genius behind all of this!"

Leaning forward, Draco jabbed the git in the head, who in return only flipped his head around and glared. "What did you do Lincoln? Don't play games with me if this involves my son's health!"

He spat in the blonde's direction, but gave no reply. Draco ignored it, but Hermione huffed, finally glancing up now that someone else had a wand jammed into his head. "He's been messing with the machine; I saw him toying with the manual valves a moment ago. We aren't supposed to change them unless something dire calls for it, but he's been fucking everything up! He been messing with my spells too, altering them when I'm not looking. I went looking for you a few minutes ago out in that sitting room, and when I returned he was messing with things. He's jeopardizing your son's health more than he's helping."

Anyone could clearly see the fire smoldering in Draco's eyes. "You've been making things _worse_?!"

"Don't kill him," Blaise cautioned from behind the blonde. "That would only multiply how bad things are."

"Yes," Hermione quickly agreed when the blonde's lip twitched. "I'm angry too Malfoy. This is going to mess with everything, but don't hurt him. I'm going to have to go to St. Mungo's and report this, get him terminated." She shoved his wand away from the other Healer's head when he didn't budge. "It's going to take some time. Let me go for now, and don't hex him."

"And what about my son?" he snarled. "Is anything on that fucking machine fixed?!"

"If you'll keep him in place for a bit I'll adjust it all back and make it fine," she said, attempting to soothe him. It was easy to see that he was livid, but she didn't want him killing Adam before she got him out. "Look, come in the room with me. I'll show you that everything will be just fine." Glancing past his head, she silently urged Blaise to say something.

"I'll stay out here and watch him," the Italian offered, already using a spell to bind the man's arms. "Go check on your son Draco. I won't let him go anywhere."

He didn't visibly relax at any of this, and Hermione actually had to grab his sleeve and pull him in the direction of the room to get him moving towards his son. The stony expression on his face never changed though. As she hauled him into the room, she glanced back at Zabini and mouthed a _thank you_ to him before shutting the door. She barely saw him nod.

"What did he do?" the blonde hissed, shoving past her to his son's side. She trailed behind, gingerly touching the wounded spot on her hairline. "What did he do!?"

"I'm not completely sure," she began, waving her wand over the little boys struggling body. It was apparent that he wanted to get free. "I'll figure it out though-"

"Well work faster!" he spat, watching his sons eyes. They were full of fear, and loathing. He immediately felt like an arse for letting something happen to his little boy once again.

"I can only work as fast as the magic does," she said tiredly, letting the spells do their thing as she returned to the machine. Before Adam arrived she had gotten the little boy all hooked up again. It took her only seconds to change everything back to the way it was, but the child still struggled to get away. She couldn't exactly blame him for it. Waving her wand over his head, she checked to make sure his vitals still functioned properly. They appeared to.

Across from her, Draco had gone silent watching his son, hardly registering what she was doing. His foot tapped impatiently, worry creasing his brow.

"Take him off the machine," he hissed after a few minutes, reaching to do so himself but she stopped his hand. His eyes shot up to meet hers. "If the fucking machine is what is messed up he doesn't need to be monitored! Detach him from it and problem solved!"

"It's not that easy," she sighed, still studying the glowing colors before her. "I have to make sure he isn't infected first, and then if he isn't we can remove the cords and never use this thing again. But Malfoy if something is seriously wrong and we start pulling him from the machine it could cause more damage than good. Please, let me do my job. I'll prevent that if you'll just let me work!"

He relented, throwing his hands up. Glancing down, he noticed that the thrashing had stopped. His son lay still on the bed now, large tears streaming down his cheeks. It was very apparent that he was scared, and since the binds kept Draco from embracing him he settled to rub the boy's cheek; anything to keep him from behind scared.

Minutes passed in a time spans that seemed to take hours. Occasionally she would touch her head where the wound was, but he never paid her any mind. At length she tapped her wand on the boy's chest, and all the spells seemed to evaporate away from him. She didn't have anything floating above him now. Clearly tired from working so fast, she removed the cords in the correct order, took the binds off the boy and collapsed onto the floor.

Scorpius jumped off the bed, scurrying up into his father's embrace. The blonde man held his son close, ignoring the slight sting on his back where the talons were digging into his flesh.

"I'm sorry," he whispered quietly to his son. "If I knew, he wouldn't have stayed. I'm sorry Scorpius."

The boy never replied, just nuzzled tighter into the older man. He liked the warmth of his father's hugs, and the fact that his father still loved him despite everything. He didn't say a work because he was still scared of what he witnessed the two Healer's saying and doing to each other when she found out that the man was lying. Scorpius simply didn't want to think about any of that.

Now that Draco knew his son was fine, he was mindful that the girl who stressed to make sure nothing serious had happened was now someplace on the other side of the bed on the floor. Walking around it, he found her leaning against the wall, breathing slowly. Adjusting his son, he moved and sat down beside her, the boy sitting in his lap. He reached out, brushing the wound on her forehead, which caused her to hiss. Retracting his hand, he reached for his wand.

"You're getting pretty beaten up lately Granger," he noted, tapping his wand against the cut. It closed easily, and he was glad to see it wasn't a deep wound.

She shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes closed. "It's not as though I'm trying to get myself hurt."

"I know," he agreed, frowning when the boys head turned and buried itself into his chest. "I didn't say you were. But if you plan to go to work, you shouldn't look like you've been beaten. Those bruises on your neck won't look good either."

"I'll cover them," she said, opening her eyes to look at him. "I don't want that many questions from people." He nodded, and she adverted her eyes to look at the little boy next to her. "Feeling better?" Scorpius nodded quickly against his dad's chest, but didn't say anything to her; she sighed at this, looking up at the elder Malfoy again. "He won't say a thing to me. I don't blame him though; I did tie him back down to the mattress."

"I know," Draco clipped out, his tone dismissive. Obviously he wasn't in the mood to talk about that.

"Yeah," she agreed, breathing deeply once more before she struggled to her feet. Draco set his son down and stood beside her, the little boy on his other side, clinging to his leg. "I should get going. Like I said earlier, it's going to be a process to get him terminated. They will want to look through my memories and all, so it's going to be a messy ordeal. The sooner I can get this over with the better. But they won't take it lightly. They have to investigate these things the moment they are reported, in case the Healer has done anything similar to another patient."

The blonde nodded, watching as she moved to the long mirror on the adjacent wall, pausing to conceal the bruises on her neck and ensure that no other marks shone through her skin. His hand moved to his neck, where the bites were still very livid and obvious. At least his son's were well hidden.

"Take Blaise along," he said as she began walking to the door, and paused at the doorknob. "He's another witness, and then people might take you more seriously. From what you've told me of your boss, he doesn't seem to like you very much. He might take this more seriously if you are accompanied by another."

She nodded. "I suppose that makes sense." Glancing at Scorpius, she sighed. "I'll come back tonight and see if there's any more that I can do for you. Technically we are cutting things short today by having the both of us leave. I'll-"

"Come back tomorrow," he said, picking his son up again. "You look exhausted Granger, and having you fall asleep on the job won't help anyone. Come back when you've gotten some rest. If there are too many fucking complications at the hospital, owl me and I'll come and help you."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I want to," he argued. "You're done a lot even just today with helping my son. I at least owe you to help you get him fired."

Relenting, she nodded. They said their goodbyes quickly, and then she disappeared into the hall. She shut the door after her, and he could hear her speaking to the two men in the hall. Part of him wanted to go along and make sure the bastard never got a good job again, but a more dominate side of him knew he needed to stay and help his son feel better. After everything that just happened, he knew the boy had to be frightened. Turning from the door, he made the binds disappear completely, and then cloaked that damned machine with a sheet before he sat his son down on the bed again. Cupping his face, he forced the little boy to look up at him.

"Are you alright Scorp?"

* * *

True to his word, Blaise followed her all the way to her office to talk to her boss, and remained in the room right up until he was asked to leave. He at first thought that the woman was simply exaggerating when she said it took a long time to get things done, but was proved wrong when he was still sitting there hours later waiting for her to come out. And when she did, he raised an eyebrow at her weary face.

"That took quite a long time," he said, stretching as he finally got up from his four hour wait. She looked startled that the Italian had hung around so long, but nonetheless nodded.

"I told Malfoy it was a long process, and I believe I mentioned it to you as well as some point."

"You did," he replied. "But that didn't mean I wasn't going to wait around for you."

She twisted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes. "What do you want, Zabini?"

"Oh please, don't use my last name," he said with a huff. "That's a tradition you and Draco can uphold. I personally don't have a past with you Hermione, and I have no reason to neglect your first name. Please give me the courtesy of doing the same for me."

The girl blinked, again surprised. "Well, if you insist. But what are you still doing here… Blaise?"

"Well I'm waiting for you," he said, following her as she began to walk. "I thought that much was obvious."

"But why did you?" she pressed, glancing at him.

"Well Hermione, it's come to my attention on numerous occasions that you and Draco have a connection of some sort." She looked at him, seeming alarmed at the very idea. "And Draco lately hasn't been in his right mind. Drinking, cursing, and watching his son far too much. Things are getting to him."

"Well they should be getting better," she replied, brushing back her hair. "You heard the dispute earlier, and I can fill you in about the details if you so desire. But the fact of the matter is that the child has been suppressed by my co-worker's subtle changes, and we don't know now if the violent behavior exhibited and the silent treatment given to each and every person was a trait that would've always occurred or one that developed because of the harsh atmosphere he was forced into."

"I see. And what will happen to that man?"

She paused, turning to look at him. "Like I predicted, he was terminated. That's why we had two Aurors down here; they were giving him Veritaserum and checking my memories from today. It was easy enough to prove that he had been messing with things, and he won't return to any sort of medical work in the future now that he is known to have interfered with a very unstable patient."

"And do they plan to send yet another Healer to help you on the case?"

"No," she said, crossing her arms. "I made it very clear while they were searching through my mind that I have done most of the work and the research since we were assigned, and my boss surprisingly agreed to let me work alone. But I think he is still wary about whether or not I will continue with my earlier thoughts."

"What are those?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, turning away to walk again. "They are just little proposals for what might be happening."

"And what are they Hermione?"

She glanced at him. "I won't be telling you my ideas until I can be sure that there is something worthwhile in them. Malfoy knows them, but that's because we started working together on something."

"Which is?"

"You certainly have a lot of questions," she said, stopping at the floo. "I better get back to my place though-"

"I think it might help Draco if you returned to the Manor," he shot out quickly. "He might like that a Healer is around to observe his son while he is actually moving. Besides, it might be good for you as well to see how Scorpius acts."

She frowned. He seemed to really want her to go back. "You have a point I suppose."

"Exactly," he said, grabbing some powder before her. "However, I will not join you on that little adventure. I have a family of my own to go home and watch, and one rather cranky bitch who just won't leave my wife alone." Her frown deepened, wondering just what he meant by that. "I'll see you around Hermione." And then he was off.

"Yes, you will," she said quietly, thinking his words over in her head. Why he cared some much that she returned tonight she didn't know, but she couldn't argue that it might be a good idea. And since she now worked on this case alone she could handle coming in a bit late the following day if she stayed late there. Yes, she supposed she could go back for a bit.

But one thing continued to echo in her mind even as she stepped into Malfoy Manor. Blaise brought up his family, and she knew he had at least a daughter and a wife. Malfoy had a son, and was almost a bachelor again. They both had a family to love.

She did not. And what remained of the two family members she did have after the war were just bodies that didn't speak. It brought down her spirits a bit to be reminded again that although so many people out there had families, she was basically alone in this world.

* * *

"How could you be so careless?" he growled, slapping the man in the head. They were alone now, as he had asked to speak to his employee briefly alone.

"I was doing what I was told," he snapped in return, glaring at the older man. "You should've known though that I would be found out at some point; it was your stupid idea to pair me up with the smartest fucking witch in the world! I could only lie to her for so long before she caught on."

Frank scoffed, standing from his chair. "Well, now our connections are severely severed. We still don't know what to do with the boy, and since by law I have to fire you there is nothing I can do to keep monitoring him."

"I could always go out in the woods," Adam offered, shrugging.

"No!" The elder man turned away, staring out the tall window. "You're only half Adam, and it's a secret we shall keep. I don't even know how you can think of something like that, when we don't know how they would react to you. They might tear you limb from limb for all we know."

"Then perhaps Hermione's fucking research will do some good," he said, crossing his arms. "You might've laughed at her while she was here, but the entire comity was uneasy when they heard that she was digging close to the truth. She's smart, and that's what makes her dangerous."

"Yes, indeed," the man replied, tapping his lips thoughtfully. "Her deductive reasoning is superb, and since you were so carelessly adjusting the child's machine and spells the entire time I'm surprised she didn't catch on faster."

"She was too busy being with Draco Malfoy," Adam replied in return. "She spent more time with him than in the room with me some days."

Looking over his shoulder, Frank's eyebrows drew together. "Interesting. If she can be easily pulled away from the room of a patient by someone she doesn't like all that much, perhaps we can find a form of leverage to keep her away for a greater spans of time. Obviously you are well aware of what's going to happen next in this situation, so we can be prepared for it. They will be oblivious to what the child will go through next, and if we can find a way to force her to leave for a bit we might be able to get somewhere."

"But how will that help? The child will just continue to develop, and turn into something new. Even if we pull her away for a while, she will come back. You know that she is loyal to all of her patients."

"Yes," Frank replied, turning back to finger a drawer. "But I know a secret about her."

Adam smirked. "What kind of secret."

He chuckled. "The deadly kind. You've said that she is sometimes late for work?" He reached up, tapping his forehead twice with his index finger. "I happen to know what the cause of that is."

Adam smirked wider. "And how long would interfering with that _cause _keep her away."

Frank chuckled, opening the drawer to pull out a knife. "Long enough to see if the child would survive stage two. We still have a cover to keep Adam."

He nodded. "Then I'm supposing you want me to figure out a way to get this done?"

"Well, of course."

Adam grinned again. "Wonderful, I can't stand that woman. Just tell me what to do boss. I'll make her life very hard indeed."


	12. The Vial

**A/n:** Lots of Adam in here, and another character makes a surprising entrance! Check me out on facebook to follow my page; the link is on my profile ;) Thanks to my betas **Tessa Cresswell **and** JDeppIsMyLovely**!

**The Vial**

* * *

Draco and Scorpius were practically glued together when she returned. The duo sat in the living room she always entered through, some sort of children's book sitting on the elder man's knees, his son in his lap. Those talons looked painful as ever, but nonetheless Draco looked very pleased to have his son nearby. Unfortunately, the child seemed to be asleep, yet the blonde kept reading.

"He's not even awake you know," she said, nodding to his son. Only then did Malfoy look up, closing the book to read her eyes.

"It doesn't matter to me. So long as he will still let me read to him in any way, I'll take it." She pressed her lips together, refusing to comment. He was clearly clinging to his son, trying to make up for the situation through small gestures. She almost felt bad for the man. Clearing his throat, he caught her attention again. "So, is that fucking man being fired?"

"He was terminated," she confirmed, brushing her hair back. "Blaise asked the same question."

"I would imagine so." He stood, cradling the child in his arms as he walked towards the bedroom. "As long as he never gets near my son again, I am perfectly fine with whatever fate befalls him."

"I figured you wouldn't really care."

He scoffed. "Of course I don't! I would've ripped him to pieces if you and Blaise weren't around. He better just stay out of my way; I don't want anything else interfering with Scorpius. I just want him better."

"I know," she agreed.

They tucked the child into bed together, and she performed a series of quick spells to check the youngster over and soothe a father's mind. When she was finished, she pocketed her wand and looked up at him. He wasn't returning the look, but she had a question on the tip of her tongue that had been burning to be asked for days.

"Malfoy?" she asked, tilting her head. He glanced up briefly, acknowledging that he had heard her. "Are you a Legilimens?"

His head snapped up, eyes narrowing at her question. "Why are you asking?"

She shrugged, brushing her hair back. "When we are in the woods, sometimes, you seem unfocused. I don't know, I thought I've heard something speaking to me sometimes out there, but-"

"Excuse me? How does that correlate with being a Legilimens?"

She cleared her throat. "It's only a question Malfoy, don't get snippy. I was only asking." She moved to leave the room again and leave him to whatever he was thinking about, but he caught her arm. "What?"

"What do you mean exactly when you say that you've heard something out there in those woods?" he asked, eyes narrowing at me. Hermione frowned at the question.

"You mean you've never heard anything while we're out there?"

"No."

"Hmm, I thought that might be the case, but I never really wanted to admit that I might be the only one hearing things." She bit her tongue then, realizing she was revealing far too much for her own good.

He shook his head slowly. "What do you hear?"

"It's nothing-" she began, trying to pull out of his grasp, but he cut her off before she could get very far.

"It's something Granger, obviously, or you wouldn't bring it up. Look, I have never heard anything out there, but more than once I have felt a force pushing at the barriers in my mind. I haven't spent the time really to figure out what it is, just that I have felt something trying to enter my thoughts. That must be the difference between you and I. I have a barrier set clearly in my mind, and you do not. That's why you hear things; you're accessible."

Her eyebrows drew together. "I never thought of that. I've been so preoccupied with this voice speaking to me that I haven't even thought of creating a barrier. In all honestly Malfoy, Legilimency is not something I'm especially good at."

"Perhaps then I'll teach you someday how to do it," he said, though he didn't sound very excited about the subject. And if she remembered correctly, Harry had a very hard time learning to push Snape out of his thoughts when he was learning the art to stay Voldemort free. It didn't sound like it would be a merry process. "What do you hear anyway when we are out there? Or does it just delve into your thoughts?"

She thought it was a bit dehumanizing to call the creatures an _it_, for they very obviously knew it had human-like qualities at the very least. The arm trying to strangle her some nights ago was proof enough of that. But they weren't entirely sure what was out there, and she decided to not correct him. "I've never felt anything invading my thoughts. Indeed, it simply talks to me."

"About?"

Hermione shrugged. "It calls me a princess, and if it uses my name it uses my full name. I have no idea how it knows who I am. It warned me the other night when we were out to turn back, but I didn't fully heed the words. It's not always smart to obey unknown voices in your mind after all."

"Yes," he agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "Have you heard anything recently?"

"Yes, but not since I went to St. Mungo's. I don't hear things all the time. Often, it speaks in riddles. I'm really not sure what it wants."

He ran a finger over his lips, thinking. "I see. Well, it's certainly something to look into. Even in the wizarding world it's not good to hear voices."

"I know." Glancing at the time, her eyebrows shot up. "Merlin, it's late. I should be getting home if I plan to come in at all tomorrow."

He waved his hand. "Come in a bit late if you prefer. You've worked longer than your shift already, and besides, I'm sure Scorpius will be fine those few extra hours. I'll owl you if something seems amiss."

She nodded thankfully. "Very well. We'll talk more in the morning."

If only they knew the chaos that would await them in the morning.

* * *

He found it quite easy to slip through the wards supposed security system. A few simple spells and a pulled up hood left everyone in a daze, and he waltzed past without a care. The room number sat in his pocket, the paper seeming to weigh a ton. A weight seemed to sit on his chest, crushing him as the reality of the task before him slowly set in. This was dangerous.

Actually, this could be murder. He wasn't entirely sure how things would pan out, just that his boss was informed to take these additional measures by his own boss, ranked high up in the Ministry. The adoring letter that came from the Weasely boy was atrocious; he was so excited to know such dangerous secrets, yet he sent such important fragments of paper through the post that it was insane. If someone received the address listed and the instructions attached, things could be very bad indeed.

However, that wasn't the main concern now, for Adam had a task to complete. Wandering down the long sets of halls, he eventually found his destination. His wand danced across his fingertips in his pocket, just in case he needed to distract anyone while fulfilling his duty. Pushing open the door, he grinned at the empty space. Stepping in, he studied the two figures on the beds.

They looked just like her, both sporting a head of dark brown hair. Both sets of eyes remained closed, and he recalled that the note stated that they were currently comatose. Why she chose to keep them in a muggle establishment like this instead of her own place of work in the wizarding world he didn't know, but it worked to his advantage this way. Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out the little vile of purple potion.

_Bottoms up. Good luck to the both of you. _

Uncorking the small glass bottle, he poured half the contents into each of their water supplies currently being pumped into their bodies through a needle to stay hydrated. He didn't wince once when the readings on both machines began accelerating quickly, he only hurried out.

He ignored the rushing nurses and doctors on his way out, knowing they were running to save their lives back in that room. He couldn't let his conscience get to him, not now. His task was complete, and Adam hoped this would have the desired effect.

_We'll see. _

* * *

The following day, Draco began to get antsy. He told Hermione that she could stay at home longer and he wouldn't let her work know- so her pay wouldn't be docked- but when noon came around, he began to wonder if she would show up at all. And at three when she still wasn't there, he began pondering whether or not he should owl her. By that time he was used to her being late, but three hours late was a different story. He had spent the entire morning just bonding with his son- which was nice- but it wouldn't help figure out what was going on. The blonde had just gone to pick up a quill and parchment to owl her when the floo roared to life. He looked up, expecting to see Hermione, but instead Blaise stepped through. He frowned.

"Oh, it's just you," the blonde muttered, returning to his task.

The Italian's eyebrows shot up at that. "Thanks for the peachy welcome mate. I'll remember that the next time you come for a visit."

"So long as Astoria is hanging around your home, you can bet I won't be going anywhere near that place."

Blaise laughed. "Then you won't be back for a while. She's still pestering Pansy with all of her problems."

"Is Daphne still away?" He nodded. "Well, I suppose it must be hard to be you then."

"It could be better," he agreed. "So who were you hoping would walk in? I obviously let you down by appearing."

The blonde shrugged. "I'm waiting for Granger."

"Still? Draco, doesn't she usually arrive in the morning? I wouldn't get my hopes up that she's arriving if you haven't seen her and it's nearly three."

"Yes well," he began, folding the parchment he had been writing on, "She returned here last night despite agreeing to go home and get a nights rest after her dealing with St. Mungo's, which she promised beforehand. I have no idea why she wanted to return."

Blaise cleared her throat. "I may have convinced her to come back after she finished speaking with her boss. I thought it was a good idea, and besides, she assured me that the marks on her earlier weren't from you-"

"I don't take it lightly that you think I've been hitting her," the blonde interjected, standing quickly as he grabbed an envelope. "I told you I didn't hurt her. That should be enough to get you to believe me."

"I did believe you Draco," his friend replied evenly, "I only wanted to figure out if she would tell me what really happened."

Draco stiffened, hoping she had not. Clearing his throat with his back to his friend, he voiced a question he wasn't sure he wanted answered. "And did she tell you?"

"Nothing." Inwardly, the blonde breathed a sigh of relief to that.

"Well, I'm owling her now to see if she intends to come at all today. At the very least she can send over a response."

The Italian nodded as he turned back. "One would hope so at least. So where is your son?"

"Sleeping, I just got him settled for a nap."

"Am I safe enough to see him now?"

The blonde thought about that, mulling the idea over in his head. Scorpius was nice to his father of course, and to Hermione who did nothing but try to help him, so he didn't see why it would be a bad idea. "I suppose, just don't startle him. He's very uncomfortable with how he is right now."

"And are you uncomfortable as well?" Blaise asked, forcing a question on him. The Draco he knew back in school would not want anything to do with a child who was mutated and changed by some unknown force, but this Draco- this more mature man- stood by the child's side more so than the mother ever did.

"Never," Draco replied, brushing past him. "He's my son Blaise. No matter what, I'm going to love him. I'm not my father; I don't have a heart of stone."

His friend let the ghost of a smile dance across his lips at that. At least the child had a father who stuck by his side, no matter what.

* * *

She pulled at her hair again, her tears soaking her cheeks. They wouldn't let her go see them, which was ridiculous considering that she could probably do more than they could at this point. She had absolutely no idea what had gone wrong, just that she received an urgent call early that morning to rush down there immediately. Upon arriving, they told her that she could not go see them and instead needed to wait in the lobby while the medics worked hard to save their lives.

It made her sick. She was doing what they would want; she was letting them stay in a non-magical place, allowing non-magic folk to see to their wellbeing. Obviously it was a mistake, for now she might lose them both now, so very suddenly. The thought made her want to rip her heart out to ease the pain, but she knew it wouldn't really help.

_Happy thoughts sweet princess. Do not let this ruin you. _

More than ever, she hated the voice. It kept popping in from nowhere, whispering quietly to her about nothing in particular. If its goal though was to soothe her mind, it wasn't working very well. It did help to have someone, _anyone_, around just then, but she preferred a real person to this faceless thing that did all of the talking. She was just too stressed and worried to do anything else.

At one point in time, the soft sound of tapping glass caught her attention. Another occupant in the lobby was staring out the window at something odd, and she followed his line of vision back to the fluttering owl. Alarm shot through her at the sight of it, and she didn't want to consider who that was from.

But she couldn't just take it in the middle of a muggle lobby either. Standing as inconspicuously as she could while the bird with the letter continued to peck the glass, she let the confused front desk lady know that she would be right back and hurried out the door without her jumper. Immediately, she drew the bird out of anyone's immediate vision and ripped the letter from it, cursing at the circumstances. Digging through her trouser pocket, she came up with a bit of crumbled cracker, a very ill-fitting treat for a bird, but it was all she had.

Unfolding her mail, she quickly read the contents:

_Granger~_

_It's just past three, and I thought I would owl to see if you plan to come back at all today. Are you really that tired? Perhaps you are just coming down with a cold. We have lots to talk about though, and a large spans of woods to still deal with, so do come back when you can- and the sooner the better. To hopefully persuade you to get your arse back here faster, I'm even going down to my bloody library to look up anything I can on the voices you keep hearing in your head. Maybe it'll even lead me back to creatures that can do that, though I've never really heard of any._

_I refuse to look into your vampire research. All the notes are with you and to be honest, I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to begin. Now hurry back here so that you can be the bookworm again, and I can go back to brooding and such. _

_~Malfoy_

She closed her eyes. With the chaos of that phone call, she had completely forgotten to go see Malfoy. Now he was owling her about whether or not she would be coming into work that day. She knew it was bad for her to call out on a day when there was always the possibility that Scorpius might need her, but she didn't know if she could pull herself away enough to actually go back to Malfoy Manor. With the last of her family possibly dying just a few rooms away, she couldn't stomach the idea of leaving now. Flipping the parchment over, she pulling a muggle pencil she had been biting from behind her ear and scribbled a sloppy reply to the blonde:

_Malfoy~_

_Something has suddenly come up that will draw my attention away for today. I won't guarantee that I will come at all today or perhaps tomorrow. But I can't just leave your son all alone; I should be there after all. Send me a status update every hour or so, and if I see a fluctuation someplace I will let you know what to do. Don't take Scorpius outside, or do a lot of physical exercise until I am back and can really look at him. If something does seem to be going wrong, owl me immediately. If I don't come fast enough, call St. Mungo's. In fact I'll owl my friend Hannah in a bit to stay on alert in case I can't return for a few days. I'm sure she will be willing to take it._

_I'm sorry that I can't return right away, but really, I'm not avoiding your son. I simply have something that I must see to. Please understand, and I will be back as soon as possible. As for the woods, I don't think it would be smart to go in alone. Take Blaise if you must go investigating, but after what happened last time I'm not sure you should go in alone. _

_I don't know what to tell you about the voices right now. I can keep you posted at best, but really, thank you for looking up something about them. I've needed to do that, I just haven't had the time, and right now I'm really too concerned to focus on anything in a book. Let me know if you find out anything ground-breaking, will you?_

_I shouldn't be gone too long Malfoy. I do intend to fully see your son's case through, just right now I can't. I'm very sorry. I'll be back hopefully in a few short days._

_~Hermione_

When she sent it off, she didn't even register that she signed her first name to him, nor that she rambled a bit too much. Though it did dawn on her once the bird was out of sight that the letter she sent back was coated in tears.

* * *

It was later when the ginger escaped the coddling's of his family. His parents were lovely at times but could be a bit overbearing, and after the task he helped with earlier that day he didn't really feel that he deserved all the love being passed around the table as they ate supper. It was a huge get together that day, and Harry and Ginny had come over, along with Ron and Lavender. Hermione was absent, though he was the only one who knew why. Harry and Ron sent her a letter earlier wondering why she wasn't at a dinner. She had been sent a letter about four days ago, but she only replied that she had been very busy and had yet to check her mail. The girl said she was dealing with some big thing, and would be by later if it finished at a decent hour.

Percy knew that was a lie. The girl wouldn't be back up on her feet for a few days, at the very least. But no one else knew that, and it was supposed to remain that way.

After escaping his childhood home, he returned to the flat he paid for himself. He was supposed to meet Adam there in twenty minutes- even if he would much rather kill himself than face that man again- and being punctual was prudent. Adam could be touchy, and though he was not the boss of this huge, hidden secret, he was like them, and he was supposed to keep the secret secret. Percy very well knew that Adam played a much larger role in the scheme of things.

Walking into his apartment, he noticed an odd woman wandering down the street. She brushed past him, moving to sit on the curb nearby to wait for something. She was dressed far too nicely to be around those parts often, and if the woman wasn't careful she would likely have the wrong types of people following her around. He paused outside the apartment complex, contemplating whether or not to invite her inside so that she wasn't sitting out in the open, when glittering eyes caught his attention. He shuddered as he noticed who was walking down the street towards him, obviously changing the look of his eyes to draw the ginger's attention. Without glancing at the woman again, he hurried inside to open the apartment up for his guest. Adam walked in without knocking only a few minutes later.

"You were far too happy staring at her you know," Adam remarked rudely, brushing off his coat. "Poor thing was probably scared to death of your watchful eyes."

"I wasn't going to hurt her you know," he snapped, crossing his arms. "I was thinking someone else might hurt her."

"Don't be too worried Weasley, she's here for a purpose."

"Oh, and what's that?"

Adam grinned. "Don't worry about it. Now, enough chatting. There are real reasons I am here."

"I know," he muttered quietly. "Well she hasn't come to the Burrow yet, and nothing else has been reported, so Hermione's life isn't upside down quite yet."

Lincoln waved him off. "No worries, it will be soon enough. What I want to know is how the boy is fairing."

"Frank called up to the Minister today and confirmed that Hannah Abbott will be covering for Granger so long as she is preoccupied. The only person that can seemingly come close to the surface of this mess has just been removed from the puzzle. She will be too busy with her own problems now to be concerned about Scorpius Malfoy. No more research should be done for a while it seems. Abbott is only on call if her help is needed; she won't go over every day."

"That means the woods will be clear," Adam mused, wandering back and forth. "I didn't hear of any disturbances when I was there today."

"Good, that at least means something is going right."

Adam raised an eyebrow. _Don't be snippy Weasley. I might not have ever fully transformed, but I still have the teeth._

Percy shuddered. Adam did not need to drink blood, that much was true, but he still had teeth that could rip through flesh in a moment. He was just very good at concealing the pointed tips with spells.

"And what if they survive?" Adam mused, tapping his chin as he took a seat on a comfortable sofa. "What then? She is loyal to her patients, and she will not remain there forever. Trust me, I have seen her arrive late more than once to Malfoy's, and every time I can almost guarantee she is coming from there."

"So if they don't die, you think she will continue doing what she is doing?"

The other man shrugged, before a dangerous grin spread across his cheeks. "Or perhaps not. She needs every penny she can make to keep them alive in their comas there, and if she is docking a day of pay even that small break could be enough to strain her budget beyond recovery. Trust me, I know her money is thin. When she used to disappear with Draco Malfoy to do Merlin knows what, I would search her bag. The witch spends more money keeping them alive than she does eating. It explains the shitty state of her apartment as well."

"You've been there?" Percy asked.

"Once," he replied with a laugh. "When she first got assigned to the case, Williams sent me on a quick run over there while they were speaking. It was easy enough to get into, even with her cute little protection spells. The girl is prepared, but only for wizards." He laughed harder. "She has no idea how to save herself against a vampire!"

"She shouldn't," the redhead scolded. "No one is supposed to know that vampires even exist anymore. Why do you think they are all kept hidden?"

Adam scoffed. "Yes, _hidden_. So hidden that a bloody Malfoy brat was able to find one- an uncontrolled one, but one nonetheless. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure who the initial one was. We're still trying to figure it out, but only so many want to comply with questions. And once you start pulling out a wand, the whole group tries to kill you. No one's going to tell me who started this mess by trying to drink the boy's blood." He shrugged. "If the barriers between where the land should end and Malfoy Manor's property began were simply marked better, this never would've happened. The child would've gone in, but any one of them would've been too far away to harm him. Now look at all the trouble it's caused."

"Yes," Percy agreed dully, though he wasn't quite sure what to think. In reality he was not much more than a message boy in regards to this particular problem, and some things he simply knew nothing about. But he wouldn't tell Adam that, not when he was so temperamental. "So… you have something I am supposed to deliver to the Minister?"

"Yes, here." He pulled out a roll of paper, tossing it to the ginger. "Don't read it, only deliver. It's enchanted so the words can only be read by specific people as it is, so it won't do you much good to try. Think you can handle that?" Percy nodded.

"Good," Adam continued, standing. Glancing out the window, he noted that the woman still sat on the curb below. "But I believe my business is done here, so I won't bother dwelling here a moment longer. Get that to him first thing in the morning Percy. It's quite important."

Percy nodded vigorously, thankful that the man was about to leave. Adam didn't bother glancing back as he left, and the ginger was thankful. As the door slammed shut, he let out a sigh of relief. The man had actually been quite civil to speak with this time.

Outside, Adam made quick work of returning to the young beauties side. She was brushing off someone as he approached, and though he couldn't see who the man was he could tell that the presence was unwanted. He thought about helping for a moment, until he noticed the large, Malfoy emblem on the corner of her jumper below. Falling back into the shadows, he ignored the scene as the other man stole her expensive handbag. Wasn't his problem after all. Besides, he might be able to use a distraught woman to his advantage.

He waited until she sat on the curb again, her shoulders slumped. The expensive white fur coat was dirty now, and as he moved to sit beside her she slid away, reaching up to strike him.

"You stay away from me!" She screamed, her wand gripped tightly in her other hand. He stopped her from attacking his face, gripping her wrist gently.

"Don't get so worked up," he said coolly, making sure to eye her emblem next, "Mrs. Malfoy."

"Oh don't call me that," she scolded, tearing herself away from him. "I won't be Mrs. Malfoy much longer as it is, so you may as well drop that title. I'll just be Astoria soon."

"Oh?" he asked, feigning surprise. Of course he knew that Draco Malfoy was divorcing- hell, the entire country did- but he didn't want her catching on. He doubted that she even knew he was one of her son's previous Healers, and decided to keep it that way.

"Yes," she hissed, straightening her coat. "I suppose it's for the better though, I could never live in that place now."

"Why's that?"

She glanced at him. "Now why would I tell you? I don't even know you!" She got to her feet, careful to put some space between them. "What am I even doing here? I'm silly to be out running around the backstreets of London at night! I should be back at my friends, not wandering this place." She glared at him. "And you shouldn't be bothering me!"

He held up his hands, standing slowly. "I didn't realize it would upset you so much," he replied evenly. "But you do look distraught Astoria. I'll tell you what, since you seem to be avoiding your friend's place despite the fact that it's probably the safest place for you, why don't you owl me if you need anything. My name's Adam, Adam Lincoln."

"Why would I owl you?" she hissed. "I don't even know you! You're just some strange man."

"True," he agreed, holding her gaze, "But outsiders sometimes have the best perception of situations because they are not emotionally connected. Remember my name Astoria, just in case. Now from an outsider's point of view, you should get back to safer places. You never know when someone dangerous is going to pop up."

She frowned at his words, watching him move past her and walk away. She really shouldn't have been out that night, not after she had been drinking, but her sobering spell at least made her seem decent. But with her cloudy mind, she didn't know what to think. Strangers were never that nice, right?

No one was that nice, not unless they had a hidden motive. She turned away quickly, hurrying to the nearest floo. Now, she truly did want to get out of that place.

And as Adam heard her heels softly clicking on the ground as she rushed away, he grinned. Because his offer was so strange, because she couldn't read him, she would remember him. And hopefully if she remembered him, her interest would grow enough to a point where she would owl him.

And once she owled him, he could really start messing with people's lives.


	13. The Horror

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this. If I did, I would be making my own stories instead of spinning off other people's amazing plots.

**A/n: **Another update! This doesn't focus so much on the creatures in the woods, but it does focus in on who Hermione has been going to see at the Hospital. Also, that topic will continue on in the next chapter because something ruins the end of that conversation :) Read on to understand. Thanks again to my beta(s) **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Horror**

He didn't question her note. When Draco received a response back from the woman, it had been obvious that she was distressed about something due to the large amount of tears covering the piece of paper he received. He wasn't quite sure what made her so very sad, just that something was bothering her. Yet he left the issue alone for the duration of the day.

However the following morning was a different story. Curiosity got the better of him, and when she didn't show he sent another owl. It went unanswered however, and though his son did occupy him he was nervous. It was unlike her to miss appointments. Sure, he might be bothering her a bit, but he meant well. They were important to each other now that they were wrapped up in the mystery of the woods and his son, and though he was a fine researcher he did not have her determination nor her desire to read. Besides, he wasn't sure he would chance going back into those woods alone. Strange things happened out there.

That's how he ended up doing possibly the strangest thing he had ever attempted in his life. Begrudgingly, he wrote a letter to someone he didn't understand, someone he truly didn't like. He did not want to have to owl St. Mungo's and drag the Abbot girl into this mess, therefore he had to make a choice.

Owling Harry Potter would just have to do. He ignored the unsettling feeling in his stomach as he sent the letter. This just wasn't natural.

* * *

Harry rolled over, stretching in the bed. Ginny had vacated it sometime earlier that morning, but it was his day off and he was extremely pleased about it. Yesterday had been jam-packed with far too much work, and he relished in the idea of having a day to himself.

That being said, it wasn't the pleasantness of a good dream that woke him up. His body didn't wake to its own accord, but instead had its sleep disrupted by the sound of something tapping on glass. Opening his eyes, he stared into the ceiling of his room. Thankfully, the light was off and he did not have to blink due to sunlight, for the drapes were closed. He did however have an idea what was making the noise, and unhappily left the warm cocoon of his bed. Throwing the drapes of the nearest window aside he blinked as bright sunlight on a thin layer of snow blinded his vision, before the unwelcome form of a bird burst through the open window, ignoring the poor man as he stumbled back. Grumbling at the bird, Harry shut the window. This was going to be a bothersome morning if things started off like this.

The man was surprised to see that he didn't recognize the bird. Hermione used pay-by-letter owls that anyone could obtain when they need to send mail, but none of those birds would be as elegant and well cared for as the one before him. And Ron's owl, well, no one ever really went there. Curiously, he picked the letter up from where the bird had dropped it on his bed to see just what it contained. He was rather surprised at what he read;

_Potter~_

_The gears in your head are probably spinning as you read this. Look, I know Granger has to have informed you by now that she is working with my son on a daily basis at her job. I received a letter from her yesterday stained with what appeared to be tears, dictating that she could not return to work for an unknown amount of time. Now before you start swearing, I'm not going to bloody demand that you bring her back here. I am however wondering what exactly is going on. If you would kindly tell her to reply to my owl- for I'm sure you're with her- it would make my son feel better. He misses her._

_~Malfoy_

He sat there for many moments after reading the conclusion of the letter, his face scrunched up and his expression one of confusion. Why would he have received a tear-stained letter from Hermione? Neither Harry nor Ron had spoken to the girl in a few days, but they were meaning to get back with her and talk about this Malfoy nonsense again. Now though, he had a letter from the git, and he almost seemed concerned. Harry wasn't completely sure Malfoy know how to be concerned though.

She hadn't owled them as far as he knew. Why would she hide something from them though that so obviously troubled her? He read the letter again, almost unable to believe that this had been sent by his enemy. There were no snarky comments or rude hidden messages; it all seemed sincere, and that was perhaps the most troubling thing about the letter. Did Malfoy perhaps know something they did not?

Well, Harry certainly wasn't going to reply to the git and let him know that he had one-upped them, for he actually knew something was amiss. Immediately the raven-haired man felt like a jerk; Hermione often seemed troubled, but usually she said it was just her work. More than her work had to be troubling her now.

He would have to go see her, and soon. Ron would obviously come along, though he couldn't say the same for Ginny. Stripping out of his pajamas, he began to dress himself as he searched for a scrap of paper and a quill.

"Ginny! Darling, I think I'm going to need to leave. Have you seen my shoes?" He paused as he pulled up the trousers he planned to wear for the day, hardly writing a note to the blonde at all.

_Malfoy~_

_We'll take care of it. Tell your son she should be back soon, but I want to make sure she is alright before she goes on her way._

_~Potter_

He felt uncomfortable just sending the letter. By the time he had given the bird a treat and sent it on its way with the letter, his wife had appeared at the door, their son on her hip.

"What's the rush?" she asked, obviously perplexed by his behavior. "I thought today was your day off."

"It is," he said, snatching up a shirt and jumper. "I think something is really bothering Hermione, and I need to go see her. Will you be fine with James for a bit? I know I said we could do some things together today, but I think it's urgent."

"Is she alright?" the ginger asked, adjusting their child as he began to cry. "Did she say something was wrong?"

He hesitated a moment as he grabbed the shoes she had picked up, wondering if he had time to indulge her in the story of Malfoy owling him. Shaking his head once, he decided he would wait until later to explain everything to her, when he hopefully understood things as well. "It's complicated," he said, standing again once his shoes were on. "I need to go to Ron's and pick him up, and then we need to go talk to her. I'm not entirely sure what's going on."

Ginny nodded her understanding. "Perhaps hint that Lavender can come over if she wants? She can bring their son, and at least James and Patricia could play together." She cringed at the name. They all knew Ron did not get the final choice there.

"I will," he said gratefully, leaning over to kiss his son's head, then his wife's lips. "I'll return as soon as I can."

"I know," she agreed, nodding to him as he picked up some powder. "But you'll have a lot of explaining to do when you get home."

"I know."

* * *

Getting Hermione to open the door to her bedroom was one of the harder things Ron and Harry had done in their lifetimes. Usually the doors in her home were only shut if she was changing or in the bathroom, but today she rightly refused to answer their knocks. The darker-haired boy had even tried an unlocking spell on her door without success. She was prepared to keep people out.

"Hermione, please just open up," Ron, who had been pounding on her door the past twenty minutes, whined. It was obvious he was just as irritated and confused as Harry, but at least Harry was better at masking his emotions. "We just want to know what's wrong!"

"Go away," came the response from behind the wood, the same response they had gotten since arriving. It perplexed both boys about what exactly was bothering her, and in muttered voices as they assaulted her door they toyed with the idea that Malfoy had done something. Neither was completely convinced that was the case though, considering that he was the one that actually alerted them something was wrong to begin with. If he was up to something, he likely wouldn't have bothered with the letter. After all, he could've kept them out of the loop that way. No, Malfoy didn't seem like a likely cause for this turmoil the girl was suffering from.

"We just want to help," Harry said again. "Come on now, open up. We can't help from out here."

"You can't help."

They glanced at each other. "Well, not if we don't know what's wrong," Ron tried helplessly, shrugging when Harry glared at him. "Please open up?"

"No."

"Well will you tell us what happened from out here," the ginger continued.

"No." The two sighed, and Ron leaned against the adjacent wall.

"Well, we're not going away until you open up!" Harry called.

There was a moment's pause, and then the lock on the door clicked open. They were both surprised that that worked, until the girl came out of the room and walked directly past them, down the hall.

"Hermione-"

"I didn't come out to talk," she said quietly, walking to her kitchen to find something to make another pot of coffee. "I need something to drink; I can't dehydrate."

Again, they exchanged a glance. "Hermione," Ron began, rubbing the back of his head. "Talk to us, please. We're your friends, and we are here to listen."

"You don't want to know," she argued.

"If we didn't, we wouldn't be here now," Harry pointed out, leaning against the opening that led back into her hall. "Come on now, you need to talk. It looks like you've been crying for hours."

"I have been," she muttered, and silence fell over the room. Both boys paused there, trying to think of what on earth would make her cry for hours on end.

"Something is obviously wrong," Ron said, moving to stand beside her, "Else you wouldn't seem so distressed." He caught her hands, which were moving everywhere on the counter, looking for something that he knew sat by the coffee pot, on the opposite counter. "Look, you're upset about something. Obviously it's affecting you pretty bad. Now you might not want to talk, but I think it will help. How else will you feel better? Keeping emotions inside never does anyone any good."

She pulled away from him and turned away, resting her lower back on the counter. "I don't ever want to talk about it," she muttered, looking down. There was a waver in her voice as she spoke, one neither of the boys was familiar with. It sounded like she was on the verge of breaking down again, yet her body said that she was very composed. Something didn't seem right, and they were both dead set on figuring out what was going on.

"I'm sure it's not easy," Harry said slowly, remaining a good distance away from the pair, still in the doorway. He didn't want to move, just in case she tried to dash away back to her bedroom. He feared she would not let them in if she did run. Just looking into her eyes, he knew something wasn't right. "I don't know what it is, but it doesn't seem good. Look, if you're not going to talk about it with us will you at least talk about something? Company is always better than solitude."

The look she gave him pointedly showed that she did not agree. With a tired shrug, she sat down in a chair at her petite kitchen table, the little set only having three chairs. The fourth, unfortunately, had been broken by Ron one night when he got very drunk while several of them were partying. He missed the pile of firewood by the fireplace, and decided to make some to keep the place warm. She still held that fact over his head.

The trio sat there awkwardly in the kitchen, glancing around at anything but each other. Up close it was all the more obvious that she was distressed and- though they were there to offer their help to their friend- neither boy had ever been that fantastic at comforting a girl. Harry was decent, but Ron often made things worse.

Glancing around, Harry spotted one of the many muggle photographs that Hermione kept in her small apartment. This one was of her and her late parents, back in fifth year. She looked so pretty then, worried but not under the surplus stress they would all learn to tolerate in the coming years. Since the wars end things weren't so bad, but they all knew for a time that everyone was on edge. Who wouldn't be?

Harry and Ron both knew that Hermione's parents perished in a car wreck in Australia before she could go and retrieve them after the war, and that fact sat heavily on her shoulders for a long time. But recently she had begun moving on, her mood having gotten better for some unknown reason when it came to the two people that brought her into this world. They never learned what made her have a different outlook on things, but they did know that she wasn't so horribly depressed anymore.

"I bet they want you to talk about your problems too," he said, turning the photograph over in his hands to face her. Out of everyone, he understood the most what it was like to lose a parent. He wasn't prepared though for the girl's lips to start trembling and her shoulders to start shaking. Alarmed, he quickly set the frame down and glanced at Ron.

"Hey," the ginger said from behind her, moving to wrap an arm around her shoulders. "Don't get upset Hermione, we don't mean anything by it. I'm sure they would just want what's best for you."

She started crying, and Ron quickly glanced at Harry for help. She was supposed to be feeling better about this topic, not balling her eyes out at the mere mention of it. Maybe this was the anniversary of their deaths or something?

"It's okay," Harry used quietly, unsure what was even causing her distress anymore. "They aren't hurting Hermione, and I'm sure they got their-"

"Shut up!" she screamed, breaking away from the two. They watched wordlessly as she tore away, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Hey now," Harry tried, but she didn't let him continue speaking.

"Stop!" she sobbed, turning away to grip the counter behind her. "Just stop."

They were standing now, eyeing each other uncertainly. They had no idea how to help someone when that person wouldn't even explain the problem, nor talk about it. Harry reach over to rub her back, but she slapped his hand away and turned again, angrily brushing the tears from her eyes as she focused in on the two.

"Don't- _don't_ talk about them!" She hugged herself, staring at the back of the frame. "Don't ever talk about them like you understand."

Harry let his eyebrows draw together. "Hermione, I think I-"

"No! Don't finish that sentence!" She pointed a finger at them looking between the two with a wild look in her eye. "You don't know anything about them- neither of you! You think it's alright to talk about them right now, but it's not. It's just not."

"Something about your parents is bothering you," Ron said slowly, throwing out the only fact he knew. He didn't want to make any more assumptions than that for now, just in case she started screaming again. She didn't seem to be very stable for the time being.

"Yes," she moaned, moving to cover her face. "Yes, you're right. Something about my parents is bothering me- _everything _about my parents is bothering me! You're talking about them, and that's more than enough to make me upset!"

"Why?" Harry asked, taking a chance at being yelled at. But she just shook her head at first, keeping her face covered. The trio stood quietly as she sobbed, the two men unsure whether or not they should try to provide comfort again. She kept swatting them away after all.

She slid down the wall behind her slowly, her sobs becoming uncontrolled hiccups as she went. They hesitated a few moments before sitting on either side of her, hoping the girl would speak again. At one point, Ron did get her to let go of herself and hug him, allowing him to at least comfort her. Harry remained detached from the two, trying to survey the situation. It didn't look like anything was going to end up working well. He still wanted to know what caused her to have such an outburst.

Hermione sniffled at some point, pulling away from the ginger to wipe her face again. Her eyes and nose were red, but she didn't seem to care. When she spoke again, she stared down at her floor, unwilling to meet either of their eyes.

"My parents… my parents weren't dead- at least; they didn't die the way I told you. They were alive now, alive for quite a while. But I didn't tell you." She sniffed again, keeping herself together. "But I prefer if the two of you don't speak of them in front of me, at least not for a long time. They were good people. The b-best really." She took a breath. "They died yesterday, with a cause of death still to be determined. I haven't even told you they are alive because I didn't want you to know." She laughed softly. "When they died, they probably didn't even know they were back in Britain- and Harry, I doubt that they remembered me. I doubt they would ever have remembered me."

* * *

He was sitting in one of the smaller sitting rooms in his Manor when the infuriated outburst caught his attention. It was late at night by that time, and he was spending some quality time with his son. Sure, he still had to be careful of the child's sharp nails and teeth, but that didn't mean that he couldn't play. The angered scream however scared his four-year old, and he scooped the boy up in his arms as a series of curse words followed the initial call. It was then that he realized whose voice he was hearing, and internally he groaned.

"I should put you to bed before I talk to the witch," he muttered to his son, whose head kept swiveling back and forth as he tried to pinpoint from which direction the sound was coming. Draco didn't pay it a lot of mind though, and carried his son back to his bedroom. The witch was up the hall by then, about to round a corner when he opened the door and drew her attention. Immediately, he pointed to his child before she could speak, and even from his spot down the hall he knew she was pressing her lips tightly together to keep from saying anything. He quickly go his son tucked into bed with a goodnight kiss to the forehead before he walked out and shut the door, forcing himself to go and speak to the angered girl.

"Is it really necessary to barge into my home, screaming up a storm as though you are Astoria?" he asked, moving down the hall to draw her away from his son's room. The girl followed him muttering something beneath her breath. "What was that?"

"Nothing," she seethed, refusing to sit down when he offered her a seat, before taking his own. The moment his bum touched the sofa, her rant began again. "Who do you think you are Malfoy? How dare you owl my friends!? They came to my apartment and bothered me all day, trying to discover what was wrong. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I didn't want to fucking talk to anyone!?"

He quickly held up his hands. "Woah! Look Granger, I didn't mean to cause any problems. I thought they would be with you- Merlin knows the three of you at least are always together when something awful happens to one of you. You three are best friends, right? Don't you Gryffindor's depend on each other when you are sad or something?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Sometimes, but sometimes we like are privacy! I was very vague in my letter for a reason Malfoy- I didn't want to talk about it. I hadn't alerted my friends that something was wrong because I didn't want anyone with me! I had full intentions to handle all of this alone, in my own way. But then you just had to owl Harry, and he just had to bring Ron, and they just had to make me talk!"

"Are you blaming me for Potter and Weasley's desire to make you talk about your problems? Look, I owled them because I was curious, and well, Scorpius has missed you the past two days. I haven't owled that Abbott girl you suggested for a reason- I think it is unnecessary to drag more people into this mess. I was hoping that if whatever was bothering you started getting better that you might come by and check in."

Hermione shook her head at him. She was angry, angry at a lot of things. She was angry that he had to be curious and nosy and owl Harry, causing him to become concerned. She was angry that he and Ron wouldn't leave her alone when she didn't want to talk about what was bothering her. She was angry that no one seemed to be concerned with how things were affecting her so much as what things were affecting her. She was angry that they died, and she was angry for the set of circumstances leading up to it. But mostly, she was angry that she didn't have all the answers.

"You had no right," she spat, pointing a finger at him, "You have no right to pry into my personal life, even if it's just for curiosity's sake! What bothers and affects me are my own problems, and I will handle them as such." She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She needed to calm down.

"I'm… sorry," he said, though it sounded like he wasn't so sure about that. She glanced up, perplexed at the tone in his voice. It almost sounded like he wasn't sure if he should be sorry or not. "I have no idea what's going on Granger, really. My son missed you and I was curious. I made a foolish mistake and owled your dear friend. Some people might even mistake those actions for concern." He scoffed. "I'll remind myself to not be concerned about ungrateful people again."

"I'm not ungrateful!" she cried, throwing her arms up. She walked in a circle twice before sighing, pausing to rub her eyes. "I don't know what I am."

He nodded. "Well, I'm glad you came all the way here to admit that to yourself. But all the same Granger, I'm not sure why you're still around here. If you're angry with me, perhaps you should go elsewhere to speak passionately about your problems."

She sniffled, looking at the wall farthest from him. "I didn't come to talk about my problems, that much is certain Malfoy. I came because I wanted to scream at you."

"You did that part while my son was in earshot," he remarked snidely, crossing his arms. "And if he starts spouting off those particular words in the next few days, I will not be happy. I know the moment he enters school he will be uncontrollable when it comes to language, but I at least prefer to keep his tongue clean as long as possible."

Her expression softened slightly, though he couldn't see it. "Right, sorry about that. My intention is to get my anger out on you, not your son. Perhaps I'll stop by tomorrow and remind him to not speak like that."

"It is tomorrow," he remarked. "It's nearly midnight."

She paused, having not realized it was so late. Harry and Ron left roughly at noon, but she stayed home for a long time doing nothing before she passed out from exhaustion. When she woke she knew it was late, just not how late. She never bothered to check the clock before she hurried over there. "I didn't notice."

"It's apparent," he replied. Standing, he rubbed his temples. "Look, I am very sorry for whatever happened to you. However, you shouldn't blame me for all your anger. Of course you're angry with me for unknowingly alerting your friends that something was seriously wrong, but how was I supposed to know? Remember, you have to be partially angry at whatever happened as well."

"I am," she muttered softly, walking over to the window. She paused there to stare out into the eerie scenery, not really processing what she was seeing. "I'm angry at a lot of things."

"Right," he said, and she sensed the same uncomfortable tone in his voice that she got from Harry and Ron earlier, "Then perhaps you should go find those gits you call friends. I'm sure they are much more appealing to you to talk to than I am."

She shrugged, and was about to respond when something caught her eye. The moon was out that night, illuminating the tranquil scenery the thin layer of snow over Britain created. She wasn't focused on the beautiful view though, but instead the figure obscuring her vision. Something out beyond the wards she remembered all too well was walking, pacing. She stepped closer to the glass, staring out at it.

"Is this where you're going to try to end the conversation?" he asked, sounding perplexed. He walked over to the window as well, curious at what had caught her attention. He paused as his eyes fell on the same form.

"You're wards are quite strong?" she said, though it came out as more of a question. He nodded at her side, but didn't verbally confirm her suspicions. "What do you think it is?" she continued.

He shrugged, their conversation having stopped entirely now. He still really wanted to know what had her so distressed, but he was much more fascinated with the invader wandering across his property. Vaguely he recalled the creature from the last time they were out in the woods, and wondered if this was the same sort of creature.

_Why is it so close to my home?_

They stood there a moment longer, watching the form continue to pace the barrier, before alarm bells went off in both of their heads. Another figure, and another, appeared from the trees. They kept coming, until there were seven of them wandering along the barrier, all of them appearing from the woods.

"What are they doing?" she asked quietly, tensely.

"I'm not quite sure," he said slowly, never letting his eyes move from the scene before him. With a snap of his fingers, an elf appeared at his side, though Hermione was too distracted for the time being to pay attention to this. "Make sure the barrier is extra strong."

"Yes, Master."

"And if even one of those… _things_ gets past it let me know immediately."

"Yes, Master," it said again, before disappearing with a pop. The tension between the two of them didn't ease, even after they were alerted by that same elf that the protection around Malfoy Manor was being strengthened.

"What do they want?" she wondered aloud, but he just shrugged. She felt the shrug, and it was only then that they realized that they were touching, the both of them having moved closer unconsciously.

But it was the chilling voice that entered her mind a few seconds later that caused her to tremble. Draco glanced at her, wondering what was wrong. But she just closed her eyes, trying to push the voice out of her head.

_Hello princess. _

* * *

**A/n:** Let me know what you think! Keep up with those reviews :D


	14. The Surprise

**A/n: **I'm glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter so much! It was fun to write. Hopefully, you will all like this chapter just as much! Thanks again to my two excellent betas **JDeppIsMyLovely **and **Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Surprise**

"I don't like this," he said, speaking through the terror in her mind. Hermione shook her head, trying to focus in on what the terrifying voice in her mind was saying. It didn't sound intimidating really, but nonetheless she didn't like to hear it as she watched the pale figures wandering outside the Manor. They did not look inviting.

"I don't either," she replied, studying the creatures. Her research notes tickled at the back of her mind, begging to be acknowledged, but she ignored them. She might want to know what they were, but in that moment she was very preoccupied with trying to pick out if any of them were looking up. Perhaps if she could locate one that was searching the windows, she could find the invader of her thoughts.

The blonde was silent a moment, before he moved from her side. She swiveled her head around, brown eyes watching him suspiciously as he moved away, down the hall.

"What're you doing?"

He glanced over his shoulder at her, though he didn't stop walking. "I'm going to find out what the fuck they want from us."

Her eyebrows shot up and before she could stop her feet, she found herself at his side, gripping his arm. "And you don't think that's a little irrational? The last time we faced those things I almost got killed and we were chased back into your home, on your _own _property. You don't think this is a bit insane? There's seven of those things, and just two of us. We are outnumbered, and we don't know what they want." She stepped in front of him when he wouldn't stop walking, bracing her arms against his chest to get him to pause. "Will you quit it for a moment?!"

He finally paused, the expression on his face becoming a glare. "Of course it's irrational Granger! It was irrational to ever return to the woods after our first experience out there, yet we did anyway because we wanted to know what was really going on and- more importantly- we were looking for a way to help my son. Well none of that worked! But now, opportunity is knocking on my very door. The barrier is up, and the wards surrounding my home are so ancient they couldn't possibly enter. Only people who are invited can slip through the wards. If I can go down there and get them to speak to me like they supposedly speak to you in your head, then I won't pass up the chance." He ripped her arms off his shirt, pinning them to her sides. "Go watch Scorpius if you're too frightened, but don't think for a moment that I'm hesitant to go through with any of this. We're safe behind the wards, and if they are foolish enough to come all the way to the barrier than they must have a purpose. I don't care what that purpose is, but I plan to use it to my advantage. One of those bastards hurt my son, and I fully intend to figure out what's really happened." He leaned closer to her. "You might be the brightest witch of our age Grange, but even you can't give me answers as fast as the creatures themselves." He shoved her away as he concluded his sentence, hurrying off in the same direction again. She paused for a moment as she watched him go, unsure what she wanted to do about this.

It didn't take more than a few seconds after that for her to bolt after him again. Damn it all, despite her fear, she was curious as well. She had questions of her own and he was right; they were fools to pass up the opportunity to get answers at all. It would be smarter to follow the blonde outside now and stand beside him, than for her to try to find her way down there later.

He made it outside first, and she followed him into the garden area, panting as their pace declined. When they did finally stop, it was only a few meters from where the creatures stood, and as she adjusted to the light outside she took a step back. They were far more startling up close.

Of the seven, one stood out in the front, ahead of everyone else. Those terrifying eyes she was accustomed to seeing with the creatures were absent, and in their place lay a set of milky eyes. Blinking, she recognized them as the eyes of the dead; the same effect that would happen to her own brown eyes when she passed away. The skin of the creatures was pale, so like the skin of Draco beside her. Yet his still resembled some sort of life. Theirs revealed the veins beneath; far too dominate against the skin for it to be natural. They were certainly not what she expected a clan of vampires to look like, if they were indeed what she thought they were.

It was only after she finished studying the group that she realized the front most man was staring hungrily at her. She didn't quite know what to make of that look, and unconsciously she fingered her wand in her pocket. She didn't want any one of them getting near her. Beside her, she noted that the blonde's wand was already drawn.

Part of her expected it to be Malfoy who would speak first, but she was wrong. That dominate creature in the front let his lips spread wide, stepping a bit closer to them. The shadow masking the better part of his features disappeared as he moved forward, and both of them felt their breath catch in their throats. The figure staring back at them should not have existed.

"Hello Draco," he said, for the first time not addressing her first. She shivered at the tone, having not realized until now why it occasionally sounded so familiar. But she wasn't concerned about her own thoughts in that moment, but Malfoy's. Turning to him, she could see his mouth was agape in surprise.

"Crabbe?"

He grinned cheekily at the man he had once guarded as a child. "Draco, it's been a long time."

The blonde shook his head, taking a step back as well to stand at Hermione's side. "Impossible."

"Nothing's impossible," he taunted giddily, his fingers tapping together. "I never thought I would quite get the pleasure to speak with you again."

"Impossible," he muttered again, gripping the wand tighter. "You died in the Room of Requirement!"

"Yes, pity," he said, glancing between the duo. "And to think, you never even came back to look for my body. No one came back to see what was left."

"You sparked the Fiendfyre spell to begin with!" the blonde accused, shaking his head. "The whole room went up in flames- we all knew there was no way you survived! We had a war coming our way, and Goyle and I needed to get out of Hogwarts, or at least away from the scene of the crime. You killed yourself with your own spell."

His expression tightened a bit on what almost appeared to be a translucent face. "Yes, and no one ever returned to bury me properly."

"The room only does what one requires," the blonde spat. "You were dead; there was nothing to require."

"Oh, but there was," he said, his fingers tapping together again. His eyes shifted to the girl, studying her complexion. "Casualties cannot simply be ignored however, not when the room must carry the body forever. There are secrets even within the walls of the school that we never knew about; things that went on that no one ever tried to explain."

"Yes, like perhaps how you survived?"

Crabbe stopped grinning, his expression darkening as his friend poked at the fragile topic. "Like I said Draco, bodies don't just _disappear_. People have to do something with them, no matter how long it takes for them to be found." His eyes locked with Hermione's, and she felt as though he was delving down in her soul as he gave her that lifeless gaze. "Cho Chang experienced that firsthand."

Hermione's eyes widened at that, and she spoke before the blonde could say anything. "Cho found you?"

"Yes, in fact," he said, tapping his finger against his chin as though he was thinking. "I don't know why she was there, and I probably never will. But I do know that she was there for a purpose, and she found me."

"If she found you why did she never say anything?"

He shrugged. "There are pieces to the puzzle I don't know Princess. For a time, I'm pretty sure I was fried and dead. And then, I wasn't."

"The laws of life don't work like that," she pointed out, shaking her head. "Something dramatic had to happen to bring you back from the dead like this, otherwise no one would ever die." She pointed a finger at him. "There are too many flaws in your story; you're not telling the truth."

He shrugged. "Princess," he began, and it didn't go unnoticed by anyone around that she flinched at the name, "You'd have to ask Chang what happened. All I know is my next memory is waking up in the woods as something new."

"You're new all right," Draco spat, crossing his arms. "One of you arseholes bit my son, and now he's some freak of nature like you. If you would be so kind, I'd really like to know what the fuck you did so I can stop it before he looks like you."

Vincent's eyes grew darker, and Hermione tugged on her partner's sleeve. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to anger these creatures. "Well, we freaks of nature would usually oblige, however we are not going to offer you anything if you refuse to be anything but hostile." He looked over at the girl again. "You think these large woods hold only the seven of us? Ha! You're fools then. There are only seven of us here Darling, because only seven of us even wish to speak with you. Not all of us are as… reasonable as the small collecton of us here before you. Throwing out indecent terms won't get you anywhere Draco."

"Then what do you want?" Hermione asked, finally letting her eyes slip past the first figure to the rest of the group. A figure was stepping forward to stand beside Crabbe, one who was female. She had long red curls, darker than the Weasley's, and piercing eyes the same milky hue as Crabbe. The clothing she wore was ratty, and it appeared as though she had been wearing the same rags for a lifetime. Indeed, it showed off too much skin.

"We're guarding our land," she said promptly, glancing at Crabbe. He stood over a foot taller than she, and her petite form did not emit the same type of unease that he did. Nonetheless, she did not seem very friendly. "You're trespassing where you do not belong."

"It's my fucking land!" he snapped, seeming extremely offended that this woman was insinuating that he had no right to it. "I know exactly where my property ends, and let me tell you _you're_ the only ones trespassing. My family has had rights to this property for centuries, and nothing shall change that. In all regards, following the old laws I have full rights to kill you if you attack me, or anyone I care about. I should, considering what has happened to my son."

"Watchful eyes would never have allowed such a thing to happen," she replied, raising an eyebrow at the pair. "If you don't watch those who are your responsibility, you have only yourself to blame for the outcome."

"Sarafene," Crabbe cautioned, causing Hermione to raise an eyebrow at the interaction, "Play nice."

"What are you gaining from coming here?" Draco asked, his patience diminishing by the minute. "I'm not out here to play games Crabbe, really. I don't give a fuck what your little friend has to say, I just want answers. Who bit my son? Who do I have the right to kill?"

The pair at the front exchanged a glance. "There is a problem with that Draco. We don't know who. No one was actually aware that your son was bitten by anything until you and Granger started appearing in the woods."

It didn't pass by the brunette that he was now referring to her by her last name.

"That's not good enough! I'm not out here to play games, to speak in riddles. Someone is fucking with my life, and I am not in the mood to play your games. I don't know what happened to you Crabbe, and right now I don't care. All I care about is my son."

"You always did have a dark heart," the man said absentmindedly, studying his former friend with a bored expression. "And I am not here to pretend that I know what has happened. I am only here to give a warning."

"What kind of warning?" Hermione asked tensely, attempting to ignore the infuriated man at her side.

He chuckled, looking between them. "Stop fiddling with places that you do not belong. We might not seek to harm you, but you learned all too well from the last time that not all of us are above trying to kill you." He looked between the two before his eyes landed on her neck, imagining the marks left behind. "You will not always run into the few of us who are… forgiving. Some of us will kill you without a moment's thought."

_Some of us will rip you to pieces, Princess. _She shuddered again, uncomfortable knowing that _Crabbe_ could so easily surf through her mind.

"Then you're useless," the blonde deadpanned. "I'm not frightened of you, any of you. You're all just an obstacle in my way of saving my son. I will not let him become the monsters you resemble." He turned away, obviously done with the conversation entirely.

"Your pride will be your downfall," the woman said, looking at the retreating blonde. Her eyes never left his figure, and Hermione wondered what the woman meant.

"Do you all hide here?" Hermione asked, unwilling to end the conversation. What if she never got another opportunity to speak to them like this again? Just because Draco wasn't in the right mindset to handle things like this, didn't mean she could let this opportunity slip by. She would give anything to have a distraction from her own thoughts.

Sarafene was the one who answered in a tone that indicated that she didn't like Hermione very much. "Does it matter?"

She shrugged. "I'm only curious. If there are so many of you, then how do you hide so well?"

"We adapt," she said tensely. "We learn where is best to avoid those we don't want to find us. And we were doing a good job too, until that child stumbled in and started causing problems." She gave Hermione a tight look. "Your husband does not seem to have all his wits about him. He's angry about his son, more so than you seem to be."

The brunette almost said they weren't married, but bit her tongue to stop herself. Maybe she should play along. "He's not my son," she said slowly, balancing things out in her mind, "He's my stepson. And I'm a Healer. I deal with difficult situations every day, and this is no different. I'm just trying to keep my emotions in check, since he cannot."

The redhead nodded, looking at her suspiciously, "I don't know what attacked your boy. There are those of us who walk alone, shunned away because they cannot adapt to the lifestyle we choose to live. Being among humans is a dangerous game when you are supposed to be extinct. Some of us do not think that way, though our leader doesn't allow us near the cities. Its' a simple price to pay for our secret to be kept."

She shook her head, utterly confused. "What secret? Who's your leader?"

"So many questions," the woman mocked, pulling at the neckline of a shirt that dared to fall a bit lower as she moved. "Yet, how do we know that you deserve any answers? We are a secret in ourselves, and therefore we would only entrust you with the truth if you are worthy. How do we know you are? How do we know your husband is?"

"Because we are only looking for a solution," she pleaded helplessly. "Crabbe, you were Draco's friend once," she continued, thinking perhaps it was best to not call him Malfoy if they were assumedly married, "You can't want him to suffer like this! H-our son, Scorpius, he's just a kid. He's helpless."

"And you're just a human," he replied darkly, A Mudblood for that matter. It's still a bit odd to me that he chose to marry you, after I spent years hearing nothing but his racism. You're susceptible to lies, just as we are. If I told you anything, how would I know I'm not exposing myself? Any little secret, any fact that you could reveal to the press, would be the unraveling of us all. I wouldn't tell you a thing about how to help your son Scorpius unless I knew I could fully trust you. And I don't trust either of you, not anymore."

"Then how do I prove to you that I am trustworthy?" she asked, knowing that if she didn't find some sort of hook to keep them around, then she might just lose some valuable help. "There has to be something I can do that will make you see that I won't betray you; that I only mean to help Scorpius."

"There's nothing-" Sarafene began, but she was cut off by the man at her side.

"You really want to help?" he asked, his tone coming out without emotion. She nodded, her knuckles practically white as one hand gripped the wand in her pocket. She was nervous that he wouldn't agree to anything. "Then you must do something for me, before I ever do anything for you."

"What do you want?" she asked, on edge again. He spoke so many riddles in her mind, she couldn't fathom what he could want. She couldn't begin to understand this man, not anymore. At Hogwarts he had been quite a dim-witted boy who followed Malfoy around like a leech, but now he had some kind of intelligence coursing through him. A part of her wondered how drastic of a change it had to be to even change your IQ.

The trousers he wore were torn on one knee, and she supposed he must've found something new to wear after being crisped. She still didn't really know how he survived, but nonetheless her wonderment didn't keep her from stepping forward when he pulled something from his pocket, something resembling a necklace.

"I ripped it off her when I woke in the woods," he said blandly, watching the moon catch the jewels adoring the chocker. "I don't know why she was there, but she was. She was afraid when I did so, and I left a cut on her throat. I'm certain the scar is still there." He threw the item at her, and it passed through the barrier with ease. "If you want your answers, you must get me some first. You better go find Cho Chang, and figure out exactly what happened to me."

She picked up the piece of jewelry, studying it carefully. "What am I supposed to say? I found the undead form of Crabbe and I'd like to know what you did with his charred body when you found him in the Room of Requirement years ago? Oh, and I brought you your necklace he stole as well?"

He shrugged, and she noticed the unnamed figures behind him slowly turning to leave. Panicked, she opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it. "That's for you to figure out. Go inside now, Hermione, for you must be getting cold. I will come back in a week's time to see if you have accomplished what I have asked. If you have not, I will not help you with your son."

"A week? This will take longer than a week?" But the form of Vincent wasn't listening anymore, for he was turning to leave as well. She ran up to what she supposed was the barrier, too uncertain of the creatures to step further and risk being hurt. Malfoy was inside now, and there was no telling if he would return to save her or not. She stood there and watched all of her answers retreat, slipping through her fingers.

"Wait! You didn't answer anything! Are you vampires? How did they come to be?! Crabbe! Come back!"

But it was too late. The figures were picking up speed, darting off to disappear into the trees. She watched them all go, not once stepping past her warded barrier. Sighing, she looked around at the trees and felt her heart grow cold as she noticed something.

Those intimidating golden eyes stared out at her through the nearest set of trees, and she couldn't recall any of the seven entering through that specific patch. Then again, she didn't notice any of their eyes being golden at that point either. Backing away slowly, she watched the unknown being watch her. Perhaps this was one of them that didn't think she was worth speaking with, one of the dangerous ones who wouldn't hesitate killing her.

She tripped on the stone pathway back to the Manor as she held the gaze. Startled, she fell backwards and dropped the necklace. Still uncomfortable with the gleaming eyes, she scrambled to her feet and pulled out her wand, looking back. But the eyes were gone.

Her heart hammered as she snatched up the necklace again and ran inside. She didn't understand anything anymore than before, but at least she knew there was a possibility to learn what was going on, and how to help Malfoy's son. Now she just had to go bother a girl she hadn't spoken to in the past five years.

_I wish you luck, Hermione Granger._

* * *

He sat cradling his son in his arms when she finally found him. There was an expression on his face that she couldn't read, but the half empty bottle at his side told her he wasn't doing so well. He didn't fight her when she took his sleeping son away, nor when she used the tip of her wand to heal up a scratch on his face, probably created by the talons on his sons nails. He was just a bit harder to pull from the room than she liked to admit, and it was a relief when they finally made it to the living room and she could collapse.

There was a pause in time before she spoke to the man sitting on the other side of the couch. "You're drinking again."

"Do you mean to say that you thought I stopped?"

She sighed, sitting straighter in her seat. "Look, I know it's stressful, but after you left-"

"I don't want to hear about what little process you made," he snapped. Rubbing his brow, she refused to speak as she saw the gears spinning in his head. Part of her wished he would just vent his feelings so she wouldn't have to feel so stressed as well. The faster he got what he needed to say off his chest, the faster she could tell him about what she learned. "I don't want to hear that there's nothing we can do for my son."

"But there is," she persisted. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the necklace Crabbe has thrown at her. "Crabbe gave this to me."

He glanced her way. "Oh good, you've received a gift from a dead man. Congratulations Granger."

"Don't be a jerk," she snapped. "He gave this to me because we made a deal. Look, if you'll quit feeling sorry for yourself I'll actually tell you what I learned."

"Fine," he relented, closing her eyes. Obviously, he wasn't going to be very cheery. That didn't stop her however from delving into the details of her conversation with his former friend. And when she finished, silence descended on them.

"What if she doesn't know," Draco asked. "It sounds like a big ordeal, and I doubt someone from school pulled all that off. Chang would have to be a God or something."

"Yes, it does sound a bit extreme," she agreed. "But what else do we have? If Crabbe is willing to help with your son, then I think it's worth going through the trouble. I've made so little headway with everything that I think it's worth it. Else, who knows how much longer it will be before anything comes up where I can help Scorpius."

He groaned. "I suppose that means you want me to come along for this expedition?"

"He's your son Malfoy," she said, raising an eyebrow, "It would be expected."

"I was afraid of that. So what? Are you thinking of attempting this tomorrow or something? We should get started as soon as possible if you've only been given a week."

"Yes-" she began, but stopped herself, biting her lip. She had other things she needed to deal with as well. "Actually, I have some things of my own to deal with as well. The day after tomorrow?"

He rolled his eyes. "Why did you take on a task if you can't handle it?" He snatched the necklace from her hands. "I'll deal with it myself."

"No, I do want to help you," she argued quickly, standing up. "I just, I have something else to handle as well."

"Is that the reason you disappeared perhaps?" he asked, and half a moment later he regretted his question as her jaw tightened up.

"Yes, it is," she remarked coldly, turning away. "And if you don't mind, I'd prefer that you don't ask me about it. It's a personal matter."

"Forgive me then for wondering what happened to draw you away from something you love to do," he replied sarcastically from behind her. "Whatever's going on, you're right, you should handle it first. It's obviously affecting you more than you prefer to admit, so maybe you should just let me handle this alone."

"Again, no," she replied. "I made the promise to figure things out, not you. I'll come along, tomorrow. I promise. I just need to still get some things in order." She turned back, giving him a fake smile. "But I need to go. It's late like usual, and I should get some sleep before we go invade the life of someone neither of us have spoken to for five years."

He nodded slowly, though he still looked unsure. "If you say so. Around noon then?"

"Yes."

Draco nodded again, before he stood up and walked over to her. Grabbing her chin, he forced her to look up at him. "But Granger? Don't go along with this if you're going to become a screaming nutcase again. You were a bit violent when you arrived earlier."

She pulled his hand away. "I'm aware. But that's my problem, not yours. I won't trouble you with it again."

"I see," he said, though his voice hinted towards sad. She didn't really understand that, though she didn't question it. Enough had happened that day, and she just wanted to run away to the seclusion of her bed sheets. They bid each other goodbye, and she couldn't quite recall a time when she wanted to escape that place quite so much.

But long after she left, he remained sitting there by the fireplace. The gears in his mind turned over each other, not only trying to figure out what was going to happen with his son, but also what was plaguing the mind of his son's Healer.

_You can trouble me with your problems whenever you want Granger._

* * *

**A/n: **Hope you like it! There's reasoning for the difficulty with discovering how Crabbe changed. Give it time! Got anything to say? Don't be shy with those reviews, I'm always curious!


	15. The Letdown

**A/n:** Chapter fifteen here! I hope it can live up to that last chapter; I know this story is pretty out there as far as supernatural goes compared to my other stories, but I like the change. It's different, and it's fun to write. Hopefully, it's a good read too! Let me know how I'm doing at the bottom ;) Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and** Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Letdown**

"I don't want you to go!" he cried, reaching out to grip the adult's shoulders.

"It's only for a little while Scorp," Draco assured, hugging his son again. The child had only been awake a few minutes that morning, but the moment his father started discussing leaving the poor thing jumped up out of the covers and clung to his shoulders. Obviously there was a slight attachment issue.

The child sniffled. "But mommy left," he said, glancing down as he backed away. "She didn't come back."

Immediately, Draco regretted putting off any sort of talk about Astoria for so long. He was angry at her, but that did not mean that their son understood the situation, or that he was angry with her. The poor kid was only four! As far as Scorpius knew, she hadn't come around since before the attack. Actually, come to think of it, he hadn't been bothered by her for quite some time. Sure, the finalized divorce papers hadn't been sent through yet, so he expected her to still hang around, whining like usual. But she hadn't turned up for days. How strange.

He bent a bit to level his eyes with his son's, who stood on the bed, arms crossed with the talons pointed out, and gripped his shoulder. "Mom is out handling some things of her own Scorpius. The two of us haven't gotten along recently, and she wanted some space."

"But doesn't she want to see me at all?" he argued, looking up into his dad's eyes. Obviously he wasn't oblivious to his parents distaste for each other, but that didn't mean he preferred one parent over the other. Sure, his father had always been the kinder of the two, but his mother was usually the one home while daddy worked. It was strange to never see her. "Why doesn't she want to see me?"

The blonde's eyebrows shot up. "Well of course she wants to see you Scorp! She loves you. She's just a little… detached at the moment. I'll owl her before I leave and tell her you really want to see her."

The child pulled from his father's grip, turning away to flop down on the bed, bending to pull the blankets back up over his small body. "That's okay," he said quietly, and a piece of the blonde's heart broke as he listened to his son's sad little voice, "Maybe she just doesn't want to see me. I don't think she wants to see you."

Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair. If his child- his _baby_ practically- could tell that their marriage was so rocky and unbalanced, then the pair had done a truly awful job keeping their fights away from their son. He knew they affected the poor child- he retrieved him from hiding spots and sent him to Uncle Blaise's far too often to think otherwise- but he never wanted to look closely and see how bad the damage was. Really, he didn't want to affect his child by having both his parents act like utter nutcases.

And despite everything, Scorpius needed a mother of some sort. He only wished Astoria could live up to the title better. If she couldn't represent herself as a loyal wife, couldn't she at least prove herself to be a decent mother?

He cringed as something dawned on him. She attempted to visit him weeks ago, and Draco stood by as the stubborn father and didn't allow her to. Maybe that had been a poor choice.

"Your mother loves you," he said at some point, glancing away from his son, "Very much. She just isn't good at showing it." _Kind of like me. _

His son rolled over, glancing over the blanket at his father. "You two don't show love to each other either."

"I know," he said, letting a light smile dance over his face. They might be arguing, but at least his son could still make him smile. Despite everything, that child brightened his day. Leaning over his son, he gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I promise I'll be back before your bedtime."

Scorpius sat up and Draco leaned away. "You super promise?"

"Yes," he said with a grin.

"Can Lizzy come over?"

His grin faltered a bit. "Scorp… I don't know if that's a good idea."

"But I haven't seen her in forever!"

"I know, but you're a bit different now." He picked up his son's hand, tapping at the talons. "You don't want to hurt her."

"I won't," he assured, grinning at his Dad. "Please?"

His Dad tilted his head, looking at him oddly. "I'll make you a deal. If you're super good for all the elves today while I'm out, we can talk about it when I return."

"Really?!"

"Really." _What am I getting myself into? Blaise hasn't even talked to Scorpius since the event, let alone his daughter! _"But you have to be good."

The little blonde nodded quickly. "I will be, I promise."

"Good." He patted the child on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

Hermione took her dear sweet time arriving that morning. Nearly a half hour after Draco got away from his son she arrived at his home, and he practically wanted to strangle the woman. He attempted to get her to speak about what took so long, but she brushed him off. Groaning, he decided to just shut up and let her take them wherever Cho Chang now lived.

She was very fidgety on the trip, constantly glancing around. He lost patience fairly quickly with her odd demure.

"What exactly are you looking for Granger?" he huffed, glancing over his shoulder as well when she did it again. He didn't see anyone suspicious. "You're driving me crazy."

"Nothing," she muttered, continuing to maintain a steady walking pace ahead of him as to avoid his questions. She occasionally grabbed her head, and the more he watched her act strangely, the more something occurred to him. Didn't she mention something before about hearing voices in her head? Part of him wondered if that was true.

Though after the experience last night he wasn't sure he would ever take anything for granted again. Last night pulled at his perception of reality, making him wonder how little he knew about the very world he lived in.

_Maybe that's what's bothering her. I don't really know if she ever asked one of those damn creatures… _vampires_ if it was one of them that has been bothering her. It has to be one of them though, doesn't it?_

They rounded a corner and he hurried forward, stopping her from continuing. Finally they were alone on a street where no one seemed to wander. This part of London was not familiar to him, and he just hoped that no one wandered by for a moment.

She was glaring at him, but he could only sigh. "Must you always be so stubborn? If you haven't noticed, I'm not being an arse to you. The least you could do is attempt to not give me such a cold shoulder about things."

"I'm not," she snapped, "There are just things in my life that very obviously don't concern you."

He scoffed. "Really now? I would never imagine that! Stop being so bitchy Granger; I haven't done anything to you. You were the one that was late, and it's you who has been wandering around as though you're being stalked. Now look, I came with you because this task involves my son, but I didn't come with you to watch you act like some crazed, paranoid person. There's nothing to fear out here; all the problems seem to live in my backyard. Now would you please tell me what's bothering you? You've done a terrible job hiding your emotions, so obviously you're avoiding speaking to people. You even told me yourself that whatever this problem is, you continue to avoid speaking to Potter and the Weasel about it. I don't ever expect you to indulge me in your problems if you won't indulge them, but might I suggest trying to speak to them soon? You're acting peculiar."

She turned away when he had finished, squaring her shoulders. "I already did all the talking I need to do. I am not going to trouble anyone with my problems." She walked away, and behind her the blonde fought the urge to rip her head off. Could the girl be any more ridiculous?

But Hermione didn't think she was being ridiculous, she thought she was being sensible in fact. Since returning to the comfort of her bedroom early that morning, she had been unable to find peace. That damn voice just kept making its way into her mind.

_You block your relationship status quite well Princess. Why is that? You live with Draco, don't you? The pair of you are married?_

"_Would you leave me alone already? There are reasons I am guarding specific parts of my mind, and I don't appreciate you digging around searching for loopholes into my secrets! Get out!"_

_But Princess, you are so troubled. Can't you see that he is worried?_

"_I'm not sure Malfoy cares enough to worry about me."_

_Back to that Malfoy business again? And you wonder why I am so persistent that although from the woods it appears to us that you're taken, it appears you are not. If you were married to Draco, you would not hide your emotions so._

"_My emotions aren't any of your business! What exactly do you want? I don't have anything to offer you, much less tell you. If I am not a bother to you then why must you bother me?"_

Inside her mind, she heard him chuckle. _So many questions Granger, just like last night. You want all the answers, yet you refuse to provide any for my own questions. Why do you attempt to block me out when you cannot? I would assume that Occlumens husband of yours would've trained you better to know how to block people from your mind. His is pretty hard to read._

She dared to glance over her shoulder again as she walked. He rolled his eyes at her, mockingly glancing over his shoulder as well. But he missed the entire point of her gesture; she wasn't looking for someone else, she was looking _at_ him.

_I feel you have mixed emotions about him Princess. Why?_

She turned back, bracing herself to walk forward again. "_Please, who are you? Why won't you just leave me alone?"_

_Oh, patience Princess. You're slowly drawing closer to your answers._

* * *

She stood tapping her foot impatiently outside the bar, her expensive clothes looking impeccably tailored compared to the scraps of cloth that the women around her wore. She could only roll her eyes. They were even more desperate than she was.

It felt wrong to be meeting with him, but since their discussion his words rang in her head like bells. She couldn't get him off her mind, and despite Pansy's uncertainty about the peculiar figure she had owled him and agreed to meet him here.

Her divorce papers to Draco had gone through that morning. She was a single woman now, and she could do as she pleased. Was she really feeling so lonely now that she thought that meeting with strangers was a good idea? She knew if anyone realized what she was doing, there would be hell to pay. Pansy would have a fit if she ever found out.

"Mrs. Malfoy," came the sound of a silky voice from behind her. Twirling around, she eyed the man who had smiled sweetly to her days before.

"Haven't you heard the bloody papers? My divorce is finalized; as I told you before, it's Astoria, or Miss Greengrass. I am not in any way associated with that family anymore."

Two eyebrows shot up at that, and Adam leaned against the wall beside her. "But don't the pair of you have a son together?"

She smirked darkly. "What son?"

His eyebrows remained raised, but nonetheless he offered her his arm as they turned away. "I see. Well then Astoria, what propelled you to owl me? I never thought you would take me up on my offer."

The girl shrugged, walking with him inside the club. "You offered up your name, and I needed someone to come out with tonight."

"Indeed," he replied, the gears in his mind turning in his head. "Are we meeting with your friends then?"

"No," she chirped, "It's just us."

_Perfect. _"I see," he replied again, smirking as he looked down at the ground. "Then we shall have to party until the sun comes up."

"Yes," Astoria agreed, pausing as they reached the bar. "Yes, we will."

_Bad choice, Miss Astoria._

* * *

"I don't think she wants to see us," the blonde grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared off at nothing. Hermione groaned, knocking on the door again.

"Cho! Please open up, we just need to talk to you."

Draco sighed from beside her. "How do we even know she's here?"

"Because we saw movement in there earlier. She's just avoiding us."

"Yes, but why would she?" Draco grumbled again. "It's not as though she has a reason to hate us- well, you."

The brunette turned around and glared at him. "Yes, perhaps that's the problem. She has many reasons to hate you. Poor girl is probably in there trying to decide why on earth the two of us would go anywhere together."

"That's her problem," he retorted darkly. Leaning past her, he beat upon the oak door as well. "Chang! Open the fucking door; we really need to talk to you!"

She shoved him back. "I doubt having you call out to her will help us anymore either." The girl turned back and reached up to knock upon the door again when it flew open, and a very startled Cho Chang peered out at them.

"Hermione," she remarked, sounding delighted to see an old friend. But her expression turned cold the moment she noticed who was also with the girl. "Malfoy."

"Chang."

"What's he doing here?" she hissed, focusing her attention on the brunette again as though the blonde couldn't hear what she was saying. He only scoffed. "Why are the two of you here together?"

"It's a bit complicated," the girl said sheepishly, staring back at the raven-haired girl. "Could we come in- _both_ of us? We really need to speak with you."

"What about?" Cho asked, her eyes flitting between the pair. "Why are the two of you here together."

Hermione inclined with her head that they should go inside. "I promise Cho, I'll explain everything."

The woman took one more long look at Malfoy before stepping back from the entrance, his eyes boring right back into hers. "I suppose, but this had better be good."

"Oh, it is," Draco remarked sarcastically as they entered. The complex she lived in looked to be a mess, and after observing the space briefly both the new arrivals noticed a stiff figure standing in the shadows away from them.

"Who's this?" Hermione asked sweetly, her kindness seeming to suffocate the already irritable blonde. She looked over at Cho, who seemed startled at the question.

"Oh! That's my niece, Mai. She's pretty shy. Mai! Come say hello!" In the shadows, the trio could see the poor girl shaking her head furiously at Cho. "Maybe later."

"Yes, maybe," the blonde grumbled. "Could we possibly get to the reason we came by now."

Cho's expression hardened a bit as the blonde addressed her again. "Certainly Malfoy. Tea?"

The trio progressed into the kitchen where Cho seemingly tried to block out Malfoy as much as possible. The man seemed just fine to be ignored by her at present, and resided to sit in one of her uncomfortable dining room chairs and pretend he wanted to be there. Hermione and the other woman stood nearby, gabbing like schoolgirls- though Chang seemed far more into the conversation than his brunette counterpart.

"So what brings you here?" Cho finally asked many minutes later once she finally sat down with Hermione and Draco at the table, three cups of tea sitting in front of them. "I can tell this is no ordinary visit."

"What gave you that idea?" Hermione asked, glancing at Draco.

"What? The two of you here, together? Something must be wrong. I know that you've been helping with his son Hermione, but I never expected to see you two venture outside anywhere together. Which by the way, whatever happened to Scorpius?" Her eyes narrowed in on Malfoy. "Bad parenting perhaps?"

Draco opened his mouth to snap a reply at that but shut it again. Yes, that could be considered part of the initial problem.

"Actually Scorpius is why we are here," Hermione said, cutting into the awkward silence. "I suppose you've read those bogus articles in the papers Cho?

She nodded. "Yes, though I know that some parts of the paper do hold truth. I go out with Hannah Abbot occasionally since we both still live a single life and sometimes she indulges me on what she can about what's happening at work." She shrugged. "I just know that you've been going to the Manor every day to help Malfoy's son, but that's about all. She can't actually give me details."

Hermione nodded, relieved that Abbot wasn't telling her anything much. "Yes, that's true. And throughout the research I've done I've come to some startling conclusions."

"Like what?" Chang asked, glancing at the still silent Malfoy. It almost looked like she was trying to see what his reaction to this question would be.

"Like some of the things that have possibly happened to him," the brunette began, also glancing at Draco. He wouldn't look at either of them, and seemed perfectly content glaring at his teacup. Hermione though got the feeling that he was trying to contain himself from jumping to the point and confusing the woman before them. She applauded him from his composure, considering he had been waiting for weeks to know- much less find- a way to help his son. Maybe he should just let her handle the whole thing. "We also did some exploring, out in the woods behind the Manor. They are quite dense, and far larger than I ever speculated."

Cho seemed to get very still at the mention of the woods. "Oh."

"Yes," Hermione continued, sitting back in her chair. "We were wandering around out there attempting to see what we could find when something jumped from the darkness and attacked us." Draco glanced up here, seeming surprised that she was jumping into things so quickly. But the woman had her wand out twirling in her hands beneath the table. He frowned, wondering just what she was up to.

"Really now?" the girl said again, sitting back as well.

"Yes indeed. Now see, those woods out there have been private property for centuries. No one has ever really been allowed to explore the land, even now. Only the Malfoy's have had rights to it, and from what I've observed the majority of them never really bothered to learn much about it."

"Yes," Chang agreed, twirling her hair between her fingers. She was beginning to look a bit nervous.

"Yes indeed," Hermione agreed, moving on in her speech. "We met something out there, something I've never really seen before."

Instantly, the woman began shaking her head, giving off the appearance that she doubted this. But her eyes held a different message, one that represented fear and uncertainty. And despite the girl's apparent attempts to cover up her actual feelings, the brunette kept speaking on, ignoring the obvious feelings written across her face. More than anything, Hermione wanted to know if there had been any truth to Crabbe's story at all.

"It was like something from our old textbooks on magical creatures," she continued, brushing back her hair. "These things were pale, tall, and like nothing I've seen before. In a way, they are almost like the Malfoy's themselves; eerie and unknown. But there is something about them that sets them apart from the Malfoy's."

"What's that?" Cho asked, seeming very uncomfortable now. From the corner of her eye, Hermione could see that Draco was giving her an odd look. She hadn't used that acronym before, and now he seemed appalled at the comparison.

"These things have fangs."

To that, Cho seemed to lose her mind. She emitted a strangled laugh, one that didn't come off as natural as she probably wanted it to. She stood quickly from the table; turning away to clap her hands, as though there was something funny about the situation. "Oh, good one Hermione!"

Draco exchanged a glance with the brunette, the both of them seeing through her fake behavior. "I'm not making this up Cho," she said slowly, one of her hands slipping back into her pocket. "I would never joke about something like this."

Cho turned back, her eyes cold now. "Stop it Hermione," she snapped, crossing her arms tightly. "It's not funny. There's nothing strange out in those woods with fangs, alright? That sounds more like a ghost story than anything."

"One of them gave me something," she said, still eyeing the woman who once entranced Harry Potter, "Something I think they wanted me to give to you. For you see Cho, not all the faces in the crowd were unknown to me. One stood out among the rest, and stepped forward to give this to me." From her pocket, she pulled out the necklace she had nearly left outside the night before. "Crabbe gave me this."

Almost instantly, the woman's wand whipped out of nowhere, moving to point at the brunette who still dangled the jewelry in front of her. Hermione moved quickly to counter the stance with her already drawn wand, and from her side she could vaguely see the outline of Malfoy standing as well, his wand also drawn.

"Take it back!" she screamed, glancing between the two. "Take that out of my house! Get out of my house!"

"Cho calm down," Hermione said calmly, watching the girl carefully. "We're not going to do anything to you. We just came-"

"I don't care," she seethed. "I don't know what you expected to get from me Hermione, but I don't know anything. Just get out of my house!"

"If you don't know anything," Draco said, finally speaking up, "And think that she is telling you a lie, then why are you so panicked at the mere sight of a necklace?"

Chang's eyes readjusted so her full attention lay on the blonde. "I don't owe you any answers Malfoy. Just get out of here! You're no longer welcome- you never were."

"Look Chang," he snapped, his self-control slowly slipping, "I don't know what your problem is with this, but get over it. My son is suffering due to those fucking creatures, and I'll be damned if he continues to suffer all because you won't stop complaining that you want us out and offer some fucking help! You may not like me, but that doesn't mean you should punish my son for it."

But the glint in Chang's eyes never lifted, nor did her hand steady. Progressively since Malfoy started speaking she had begun to shake, and since it had only gotten worse. The woman had to fear something. "You should've watched your son better Malfoy. This is not my fault. Get out of my house!"

"I'm not going anywhere until you calm the fuck down and start answering some questions! I refuse to stand by and let my son suffer-"

"You can't make me help you!" she hissed angrily, before firing a silent spell from her wand tip. The blonde ducked quickly, shoving his brunette partner out of the way before spinning around, ready to counterattack her.

Then Hermione got in the way.

"Stop," she said quickly, turning to Draco instead of Cho. "This isn't going to help anything."

"It might if I can knock some sense into her," he retaliated, glaring at the brunette. She only sighed.

"Cho doesn't want to talk," she continued, glancing back at the woman who was slowly backing away into the counter. "Something's unsettling her, and all we are going to accomplish by firing spells back and forth is possibly setting the house on fire!" She shook her head, dropping her voice lower to the point where Malfoy almost couldn't hear her. "We'll come back at a different time."

"We don't have _time_ for that," he spat. "We have a week."

"And we've only used a day," she whispered. Glancing back at Cho, she cleared her throat. A hand slipped behind her back and gripped Draco's wrist, warning him to not fire on Chang again. "We'll just be going now," she said uncertainly, trying without success to pull the blonde's wand from his grip.

"Yes," she agreed, eyeing them suspiciously. "You're leaving now."

"I promise," Hermione replied, dragging the blonde towards the door. She noted that the little girl Mai stood off in the hall in the back of the kitchen, though it didn't seem that she had any plans of moving forward. Thinking about it, she decided that Draco had probably scared her.

They left the place quickly after that, though Hermione could tell with every step that a large part of Malfoy wanted to turn around and force Chang to tell him what she knew. She wasn't quite sure what kind of force it would take to convince Cho that she needed to speak, but in the blonde's blind fury she didn't think it was a good idea for him to even try and utter another word to the girl. The last thing they needed to do was start throwing spells at one another. Who knew how far that would progress.

One thing was very clear though as they apparated back to the Manor. It would take an awful lot more than a day to convince the woman to speak to them. And on top of that, Hermione wasn't even sure it was a good idea to bring Draco along whenever they attempted to try this again. He was too blinded by his emotions, and she didn't quite think he thought clearly when like that.

This was more complicated than she wanted to admit.

* * *

"She knows something Granger and she refuses to say anything!" He was pacing the length of his hallway, screaming profanities for the majority of his walk each direction. Thank Merlin that this was nowhere near where Scorpius slept, but she didn't think it mattered very much. Everything seemed to echo here. "I should bloody kill her!"

"Something is scaring her about saying anything," Hermione reasoned. "She got uncomfortable from the moment the conversation started. It's obvious that she knows something; we just don't know what, or why she won't say anything. I'm pretty sure though that the tale Crabbe spun for us about being found in the Room of Requirement is no lie. She saw something, and that's very apparent. We just need to figure out what, and get her to see why we need her to tell us everything. It's just going to take some time."

He turned just ahead of her, hitting some very expensive looking picture frame, and shattered the glass. She sighed as he cursed and turned away, and again she replaced the glass covering the picture. This was the fourth one he had destroyed in this hallway in the past twenty minutes, and she didn't think it would do any good to leave the glass on the ground. She would simply wait until he was done venting before she tried to heal his hand, _again_.

"I'm tired of taking time for everything Granger! I'm tired of telling my son 'later' or 'some other time'. He can't even see his friends until this mess is fixed! Fuck, Blaise hasn't even seen him! And the more time I have to use to help him, the less time he has to go see his friends. He might only be five years old Granger, but you're only five _once_." He sat down nearby, close to where she was situated. "His birthday happened some days ago."

"What did you do for it?" she asked kindly. He appeared to be in an awful mindset, and she doubted that continuing on with the Cho Chang conversation would do him any good.

Draco shook his head slowly, leaning his head back against the wall with a dull thud. "I drank myself to sleep, and my son lay on a bed, strapped down and scared to death. I didn't do anything Granger; not one fucking thing. Anything I had to give to him seems impractical now, since he has talons that will pierce most anything. He punctures holes in anything I give him to wear, and then he feels bad about it when something expensive has been ruined." The blonde shook his head slowly. "No child should have to feel that way."

She nodded slowly. "No, you're right. He should be able to have fun and act like a child."

The blonde scoffed. "Yes well, that's not going to happen so long as we can get nothing done. I won't dare send him outside, and there's just no way I can have Blaise's daughter visit, not when there's the possibility that he'd draw blood. Blaise would have my head." Draco shook his head. "And the more time we waste trying to figure out how to help him, how to _save_ him from becoming like Crabbe and the rest of them, the more alone he feels."

Hermione glanced at the floor, unsure what to say now. They sat in silence for a long time in the hallway, each of them unsure what they should do. But Hermione knew very well that the blonde was lost about what to do, and how to handle things.

Just like her. And somehow, maybe they could learn to help each other.

* * *

**A/n: **Thoughts? Let me know! You can also check out some of my other new stories "Red Angels" and "Secrets After Death" if you're interested.


	16. The Prying

**A/n: **I like parts of this chapter. It focuses in more on Hermione's personal problems as well as a bit of budding romance and complications that will be forming in the story. It's all very interesting I think. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks to my amazing betas **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Prying**

She didn't return to her own home that night. Exhaustion from the disappointing day lingered in both their bodies, and when he offered her a guestroom in the next hall she surprised even herself by saying yes. Apparently the idea of spending the night at the Malfoy's was more appealing than returning to an empty house.

This was probably the safer option anyway. Yet despite the fact that she was now in a house with people, she still felt alone. Malfoy knew that something was wrong with her, he just didn't know what. And preferably she wanted to keep it that way. But it was obvious that he would persist to ask her questions whenever she arrived at his house upset, which seemed to be becoming a more and more common occurrence. Hopefully she could learn to suppress her feelings better than she had been as of late.

That didn't mean she had to do so in the solitude of this room though. It was off and away from Malfoy's room (supposedly, she didn't know that for sure) and was a hallway away from Scorpius, so she hoped she didn't have a reason to fear being heard by anyone.

So she let herself weep. Weeping had been the reason she was late to come and meet Draco the morning before, for she could not seem to pull herself together. In the jumbling mess of the Malfoy's and aiding in helping Scorpius she found that she had only the nights to really grieve for her loss, and even then it was sometimes taken away when she still had tasks that needed completion.

Hermione just wanted to have the right to cry without feeling like it was wrong. She had obligations, but she was human. And she hurt.

That's why when a pounding on her door the following morning awoke her, she felt less than rested. She felt drained from crying, and emotionally out of balance from compressing her feelings during the days. Harry and Ron might know what had happened, but they didn't know the details. She didn't even know every detail. And considering that they were highly uncomfortable with their hysterical, crying friend they didn't prove to be much help. Harry was a bit more comfortable with aiding her in the situation for obvious reasons, but even he didn't quite understand. His parents were gone before he could remember, and hers had been around throughout her entire adolescent life, allowing her to create a strong bond to them. And now that bond was forever severed.

Unfortunately, it took her several moments to take in her surroundings and realize where she was. Here, she would not allow herself to cry in front of the blonde, nor even give the slightest appearance that she was troubled. Shuffling from the bed quickly at her sudden wake-up call, she scrambled for her wand and managed to hide the weariness on her face with a flick of her wrist. At least now she looked semi-rested. Feeling slightly more comfortable, she took a deep breath and turned back to open the door as it was rapped on again.

Malfoy stood on the other side, looking annoyingly put together for such an early hour in the morning. He was dressed, groomed, and ready to go anywhere in the lavish dark robes he always seemed to wear. And there she stood in some crinkled clothing she had fallen asleep in the night before, hair astray and her eyes looking a bit strange. If he thought anything of her appearance, he said nothing about it.

"I was beginning to think you weren't up," he said simply, studying her wrinkled clothing. "Looks like you slept well."

_It's anything but that._ "Quite," she agreed, nodding once at him. Shivers ran down her spine a moment later.

_You're lying, Hermione Granger. There are many issues beneath your falsehood. Why do you seek to hide your problems from so many, when so many could help you?_

She shook her head at the eerie voice, trying to focus in on what the blonde was saying. "… nice, you know? He deserves it after everything, and if I can find a way to do it properly I would give him anything in a heartbeat."

Now the brunette frowned, knowing she was missing something vital. "Sorry? I'm a bit dreary this morning; I missed the beginning of that."

Draco glared at her, obviously irritated that he needed to repeat himself. "I said, I want to do something minimal for Scorpius' birthday. I've been so down I haven't done much of anything for him, and though it won't be anything extravagant like what he is used to, it will be better than what his actual birthday was like." The blonde glanced away, and her eyebrows shot up at the expression that ghosted across his face briefly. Was the git actually feeling ashamed about that? "I was hoping you would join me in this process. I can't exactly invite anyone he would really like to see, but he enjoys you. Since you so willingly decided to spend the night last night, I am hoping you will make another exception."

"What kind of party are you planning for him exactly?" she asked wearily, wondering what he had in mind if it meant that she had to stay over again

"Nothing much," he said slowly, "But I do know that you are required to run standard procedures during the day, every day. That means that if we planned anything for during the day, that some of his birthday time would be taken away. Now if we plan something in the evening, he can have a bit of fun and then sleep. It seems like a better idea to me."

She shrugged, not arguing the point. Considering the transformation Scorpius was going through- and after seeing the final outcome of his changes- she suspected that he would be more alive at night. She had yet to see any of these so-called _vampires_ wandering during the day. But then, she had never gone looking for any.

"Do you really intend to have this tonight? Just the three of us?"

It was Draco's turn to shrug. "Not exactly. We need to do something about this Chang situation again obviously, and since you have to run the basic tests today, that takes away some of our own planning time. I have a present already, and it's not like I expect you to bring one. Perhaps tomorrow night then, and that would give me time to floo Blaise and shoot him the idea. His daughter might need to stay away for a bit, but I think it would mean a lot to Scorp if his Uncle Blaise visited and brought him something. Yes, that sounds like a fine idea."

She had to take a moment then to really study the man before her. Here stood Draco Malfoy, not a divorced man in his early twenties, and a supposed alcoholic. This was someone that made her life hell during school when they crossed paths, someone that loved to torment her just because she was different. And now she was seeing this unknown compassionate side of him? A side she didn't even know existed.

Tilting her head, she took him in. He really had shaped up to be a fine parent. When she began coming over here, she thought he was nothing more than unfit for the job. But once he got some real determination in him to help his son, and actually had her ideas to drive him, the man seemed unstoppable. Even now he was trying to piece together a makeshift birthday for his son so that the boy might not feel so shitty about the situation. It made her look through a different light now, even though her perception on him had been changing since the beginning.

He was really a star parent, and a damn good father no matter what anyone said. Despite everything, he was still trying to make his son's life the best. And that was all that really mattered.

"I agree," she said, giving him a soft smile. "I'm sure he will love it." The blonde grinned at her. "So tomorrow night then?"

"Yes. And in the meantime, we really need to owl Chang or something. I can't stand her disagreement; she's only making my son's life harder."

"I'm sure she can be persuaded when she understands the dangers and seriousness of the entire situation," Hermione said quickly, seeing the flicker of doubt pass across his face. Merlin, this man got a bit more trusting of her day by day. It was strange in a way, considering how they felt towards each other only weeks ago. "I'll help you owl her."

"Thank you," he said quickly, nodding his agreement. "I'll leave you be now to get yourself ready for the day. Since you stayed over I can have some spare clothing from what Astoria left brought here if you like-"

"That's okay," she said quickly, rubbing her head, "I'll just clean what I have with me." After all the horrid stories of Astoria floating around London about her extra activites outside her marriage, Hermione didn't think she could stomach the idea of wearing even a jacket of hers. It just made her skin crawl.

"If you insist then. I'll leave you to it." They said a few chaste goodbyes before he pulled her door shut, leaving her alone again in the solitude of the suite-like place. She turned and sank down the door, closing her eyes.

Looked like another long day was coming her way. Now she was not only a Healer for the Malfoy's, but she was also going to help a little boy enjoy his birthday. Well, things could be worse she supposed, and she ran her fingers over her eyes. There were worse things to do with one's day.

* * *

Things were getting much worse. Dealing with the standard tests? A piece of cake. Helping organize a four-person birthday party? Simple enough. Avoiding the questioning eyes of a blonde who seemed to always want to know what was going on? A much harder task.

Ever since she left her room, Malfoy had been watching her curiously. The voice in her head hadn't spoken since its little comment earlier, and for that she was thankful. She didn't need to have the man's voice butting in and putting out an opinion on every other thing. That might just drive her mad.

Then again, Draco's watching eyes might have the same affect. After nearly an hour of watching her study books in the library, she snapped at him. The letter to Cho was finished and sent, and Scorpius was napping. They were doing some more research now, only he seemed more interested in trying to read her.

"Do you mind?" she snapped at him, only causing his eyebrow to shoot up. "I can't concentrate while you stare at me."

"Well I can't concentrate on the text in front of me," he retorted, raising an eyebrow higher. "I'm a little preoccupied."

For a moment she got the bizarre notion that he might secretly be hitting on her, but she shushed that idea. Now that was insanity! Instead of voicing her uncertainty, she huffed. "Well, try won't you? It is your son we're helping after all. You should be a bit more compelled to help research."

"And who shall help you?" he asked, causing her to freeze in her place. The brunette looked up slowly, her hair hanging around her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked after a moment, shoving the mop of hair away from her.

He leaned forward across the table they were sharing, the same table they had sat together on weeks earlier. "I think you know what I mean Granger. You called off coming to work a few days ago, and then when you did appear you were a complete, absolute wreck. If the way you looked this morning is any indication of your sleeping patterns, then I'm assuming you rarely sleep at all- and if you do sleep, not well. Whatever happened Granger, it's still bothering you quite a bit apparently. Now I have no bloody idea if those friends of yours know what's going on, but if they do I would advise them to have a deep talk with you. You don't seem stable."

Hermione stood quickly, shoving her chair roughly back from the table. It scratched the wood floor beneath them, and she hoped it left some marks for him to curse over. "You don't know anything about me," she hissed darkly, moving away from the area. "You never have, yet you keep assuming that you do. What exactly gives you the right to speculate about my life Malfoy, and then to pester me about it? Quite obviously the problems I am facing are all my own, since I have no husband or a child. My problems are mine alone, and I will handle them as such."

"That seems like a difficult task," he remarked. "My son is solely my problem, yet look at the people involved. I'm going to end up in a custody war if he is ever healed because his superficial mother will only accept a _perfect_ child. And aside from that, he's _my_ son. If I had dealt with this all alone things would be very different. He could be suffering more, or one or both of us could be quite hurt. See what I'm getting at Granger? You're delusional to think you can handle everything on your plate by yourself."

She spun around, pointing a finger at him. "This is different Malfoy! My problems are not your problems! What I am dealing with is nothing like what you're dealing with, and the fact of the matter is that I _can _handle it by myself! Stop prying! You don't even know what you're digging into!"

"I'm only telling you what I see!" he spat back, sounding agitated. "You're a bit worrisome at times Granger, whenever you get that far off, sad look in your eye, or when you appear here rather late without a logical excuse, yet you look downtrodden. And then you called off from work. Do you really not see what I'm getting at?"

Hermione snapped then. Going against her morals, she picked up the nearest book and chucked it at his head. The blonde quickly stopped the book with his wand, but in his distraction to keep himself safe he failed to realize that she was running away until she was out the doors of the library.

"God damnit Granger!" He yelled, throwing the volume he had just saved. He didn't move to wander towards the door, just simply stayed where he was and pounded on the wood table. "Why are you still running!? This isn't doing any good! Whatever you are hiding is just going to keep building up inside! Fuck Hermione, why won't you just help yourself?!"

She wasn't paying any attention to his aggravation as she hurried through the halls away from the library. Reaching the sitting room she always arrived in, she took a sharp left. The woman recalled the path she needed to take to get outside, and Merlin knew she was going to take it. There was a protective barrier after all, so she didn't need to fear being hurt by anything. She just needed some air, and to get away from Malfoy!

Circe, he was pushing her limits. She didn't want to be forced into saying anything.

Outside, she finally slowed down to collapse on a chair set out beneath the massive porch. She caught her breath, tired from her fast sprint out there. Hopefully she could avoid him for a few minutes until she felt composed enough to go back and face him again. And when she did, she would certainly have some words for him regarding his nosiness.

The air was bitter out there, and a cold gust of breeze painfully remained her that winter was afoot. Perhaps if her emotions weren't so jumbled she would've remembered to grab a coat- or at least place a heating spell on herself- before going outside. It might be too late for the jacket, but she quickly applied the spell and relished in the warmth.

"Nice and warm, Hermione Granger?"

She jumped at the voice, immediately knowing who it was now. Twisting in the chair to peer behind herself towards the barrier, she saw him standing in the light snow, his hands shoved down into torn pockets. "A bit cold out here, isn't it?"

"What do you want?" she spat, standing from her seat. She hugged her body as she walked closer, the coldness eating at her.

"I merely came to chat," Crabbe said, feigning innocence. She didn't buy it for a moment, and her trustless look must've told him that she didn't believe him.

"To come to chat, you would need to know if I was at the Manor or not, let alone coming outside. How did you know I was coming out here?"

Crabbe shrugged, his lips twitching up into a grin. "How do you think, Princess?"

Hermione's eyes widened a fraction, and at the mention of the nickname something obvious must dawned on her. "You're it; you're the voice that keeps invading my thoughts!"

"Well done," he said, the same dry humor lingering in his voice that often lingered in Draco's. "I expected you to pick up on that at our last meeting."

"I had a bit too much on my mind then," she replied, glancing around. "Where are the others like you?"

"Somewhere," he said, shrugging. "It's a bit early for us to be prowling around; we do sleep at opposite times from you, you know?"

The words were off her tongue before she could stop them. "Vampires… ha! I knew you all had to be vampires."

"Correction," he snapped darkly, barring his teeth. She took a step back at the sudden hostility. "We're hybrids. We don't follow the traditional mindset of the original vampires anymore."

She nodded slowly, not exactly understanding. "And all of you choose to hang out in Malfoy's backyard?"

"And you still call him by his last name," Crabbe said, grinning. "I would think that the two of you would at least be on a first name basis if you are sleeping together."

The brunette looked appalled. "We are not sleeping together!"

"Then why are you so frequently at the Manor at night?"

"I'm helping his son! And before we started almost getting killed in those God-forsaken woods, we used to search through them. How dare you assume that we sleep together?!"

Crabbe chuckled. "I can only surf through your mind so long at any one time Princess. The act of reading minds is strenuous, and though your barriers are weak and easily breakable, there are parts of your thoughts that you keep shut away. For the first few days Hermione Granger, I was under the impression that you were the boy's mother."

"I am nothing of the sort! I am a Healer-"

"Which is something that I did come to realize," he replied. "It didn't take long actually. Luckily for you I haven't let on to anyone else that the two of you aren't actually together."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean _luckily _for me?"

Again, Crabbe chuckled. "Have you failed to realize that outside of Sarafene the group I appeared with the day before yesterday was predominately male? So many males, yet so few women around to partner with. What do you think would've passed through their minds in the woods if they were under the influence that you are very much single?"

She didn't reply, but her silence spoke volumes. Obviously, she didn't want to know.

"Exactly. Now be glad I am the one that has the easiest time getting through your mind. Draco proves to be more of an obstacle, but you still represent a bit of an obstacle to them."

"Why?"

"Ah, so many questions princess. Think of it this way; in my life, we had a connection, even if it was dim and didn't represent very much at all. We still knew each other in my life, and through that it makes it easier for me to read you."

She frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Well, whenever you can get your story from Cho, maybe I will enlighten you a bit more." Inwardly, she cringed at that. She didn't really want to discuss that of all things.

"So you just knew I would be out here," she said slowly, switching up topics now. A slight nod of his head confirmed her sentence. "Why did you come to meet me then?"

Crabbe shrugged, lifting an arm as though to touch her. She recoiled, but the action proved useless a moment later when his hand fell against the unmoving barrier between them. She did feel a bit relieved by that.

"I am oh so close to you, yet so far away," he muttered, and she pressed her lips together at his words. Why did it even matter? "I was hoping to talk longer," he continued, causing her eyebrows to wrinkle. She didn't understand until the distinct sound of footsteps finally caught her attention.

Turning, she saw Draco appear from his home, his wand drawn at his side. She couldn't quite say why, but a strange sense of relief fell over her upon seeing him. Just knowing that Crabbe might want to touch her was creeping her out.

"I was wondering where you went," the blonde said, walking to her said. He glanced at Crabbe with a stony expression, one which was returned right back to him. It didn't seem to bother the blonde one bit, and without a second glance he focused his attention on Hermione again. "Let's get inside."

"Why?" she asked, glancing at Crabbe. She wondered where their conversation was heading before Draco interrupted.

"It's frigid," he replied, as though this should be quite obvious. "And it's a mess in my library. We need to fix that."

"I believe only one book was misplaced, and you should know where it is better than me." She wasn't exactly paying attention to her words, for her focus was on Crabbe. His eyes kept flickering between brown and black, and this was an action she didn't understand. What was going on?

"Then let me show you were it is," he continued, grabbing her arm. Her eyes remained on Crabbe until she was spun around, and then the action replayed in her mind. Oddly, she found her hand gripping Draco's arm as they hurried inside.

His eyes, so peaceful and gentle towards her took on a dark gleam when Draco appeared. They moved from a look of simplicity to a look of hunger. It worried her just a bit.

But then, the arm that was strangely snaking itself around her shoulders wasn't helping her remain focused on any one thing now. There were too many things dancing around in her head as she looked up at Draco, trying to read his expression.

He looked angry.

* * *

**A/n:** A bit short I know but I wrote it at 1 a.m! Review anyway?


	17. The Skin

**A/n: **Sorry about the late update! I had the ACT and a ton of work to do for an AP class (college level English) on top of registering for my college program. So writing just escaped my mind. Hopefully you will forgive to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and **Tessa Cresswell**!

* * *

**The Skin**

"Let go of me," she huffed in exasperation, shoving him off her as the door to his backyard slammed shut. Spinning on her heel, she glared at him in the hallway, arms crossed over her chest. "Now just what do you think you are doing Draco Malfoy? This is not funny! I don't understand why you are making such a big deal about me being out there, but you're huffy demure is not good! Now what's got you in such a fit?"

The blonde huffed, shoving past her. "Nothing. I just don't think it's an exceedingly smart idea for you to be out there with creatures we don't even understand. Barrier or not, we don't really know what their intentions are, much less what they are capable of."

Behind him, the woman stifled laughter. Placing a hand over her lips, she followed behind him, fighting to stay quiet until they were back in the all too familiar sitting room. He finally turned to look at her there. "Just what is so funny?"

Pulling her hand away, the woman chuckled. "You're worried about me."

"Well of course! You're helping my son; what would I do without you?"

But Hermione just shook her head, crossing her arms confidently over her chest. "It's more than that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied stiffly, sitting on the nearest sofa. "Maybe they did do something to you."

She shook her head, bouncing up to sit beside him. The man looked appalled by her sudden glee. "Don't play stupid Draco," she replied, daring to place her feet- shoes and all- on his ridiculously expensive sofa, "It's not becoming of you. You very well know what I am talking about, even if you don't wish to acknowledge it." She rubbed her chin jokingly. "Don't you find it coincidental that you came out right after Crabbe tried to touch me?"

"He _what_?" She raised an eyebrow, having been supposing that the action was what set him off.

"So you missed that then? Interesting."

Draco positioned himself so he sat facing her more directly, watching her facial expressions closely. "What do you mean he tried to _touch_ you?"

She shrugged. A memory of the strange event crept into her mind.

"_I am oh so close to you, yet so far away," he muttered, and she pressed her lips together at his words. Why did it even matter? "I was hoping to talk longer," he continued, causing her eyebrows to wrinkle. She didn't understand until the distinct sound of footsteps finally caught her attention._

_Turning, she saw Draco appear from his home, his wand drawn at his side. She couldn't quite say why, but a strange sense of relief fell over her upon seeing him. Just knowing that Crabbe might want to touch her was creeping her out._

It was a rather strange moment in time. "The barrier kept him away from me, so there was never any concern. I can't fathom why he would wish to though, after everything. I'd think he would have a higher desire to strangle me than lightly touch me."

The blonde's jaw twitched at that, though he said nothing. She wondered what exactly that meant. She attempted to press the matter a few more times using the same tactics, but Draco remained firm. He did not want to discuss his unusual anger.

Scratch that; his anger was prominate in a lot of the time they had spent together in the past and now. Today it was just seemingly misplaced. Usually he was mad at her, not at someone _for_ her. She would never understand him.

"If you refuse to speak then I will just take my leave for the night," she said quickly, standing. "We should go and see Cho again and try to get her to speak to us. I'm not really sure how we will do that, but something has to be done about that situation. And the days are dwindling away quickly. It's silly to waste a single one."

"Indeed," he agreed, though she could still hear the anger in his tone. If he wanted to keep his emotions inside that was fine, but she didn't want his pent up anger coming out at a bad time, like when they went to speak to Cho. It just didn't seem like it would help anyone.

"Try and cool down," she recommended smoothly, smirking when he glared at her. Turning from him, she walked towards the fireplace. He had things to deal with, and she knew once she got home so would she. That house was an empty dwelling chamber for her, a place where her sobs echoed off the wall. A night at the Manor hadn't been perfect, but at least she wasn't alone.

"Who do you go home to at night Granger?" he asked, startling her with the question. She paused at the floo, spinning to look at him.

"Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Because you always rush out of here at night. You must have something or someone that you intensely miss while you waste your days here."

"Not specifically Malfoy," she said with a frown. "I live alone."

The blonde scoffed. "Then I must be horrid company for you to always be so eager to leave. Even when you stayed the night you seemed a bit eager to be elsewhere. You're a strange one."

The girl glared at him. "I have things I have to handle at my home, whether or not I live alone or not. That's just one the joyous things I go home to handle at night." She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "And on that accord Malfoy, you really aren't always the best company. You ask quite a few invasive questions. I might be here to help you with your problems, but that doesn't mean you are somehow obliged to care for me and help me as well. It's not expected and you don't have to put forth the unnecessary effort. It's not your thing to help people, and I know that very well. You don't have to worry yourself over whatever I deal with in my personal life. I'll handle it myself."

She turned away, but she wasn't prepared for him to hurry up behind her and grip her wrist. Turning back, she looked up at steely grey eyes. "Do you always think I am this heartless?"

She attempted to pull away, but he kept a tight grip on her. "I don't think you're heartless exactly Draco, at least not anymore. But I do know that emotions are not your strong suit. No matter how awful your wife was, it still had to be some sort of emotional disconnection between the two of you that helped break you apart. And what I'm dealing with is just something no one can help me with. I have to deal with it myself."

He inclined a delicate eyebrow. "Those two buffoons that you associate yourself with aren't helping you?"

"Well I haven't been around much for them to help," she pointed out. "And even when I am, emotional people make them uncomfortable. Don't look at me like that! I did tell them the situation, so they aren't in the dark. They just can't help me too much."

"Why? Because they are bad with emotions?"

She looked up at him, glaring. "No, because I didn't want to talk about it. I don't like dropping my problems on people!"

"Do you think I do then?" he asked, his eyebrow shooting up again. "I have done everything I can to keep the disaster that befell my son as self-contained as possible. But that doesn't always happen." He jabbed a finger at her. "You're a good example of that."

Hermione looked away, choosing to glare at his wall instead. When she refused to respond to him, he sighed and released his arm. "Look, due to this I will already be delaying Scorpius' birthday surprise until at least tomorrow. Why don't you stay over? I know you probably hate me in this moment, but this place is fucking huge. Sleep on the other side of the Manor and you won't even realize that I am here."

Immediately, she felt bad. They had planned the lovely birthday party and it had been cancelled by their own drama. The poor child was never going to feel like anything in his life was normal if they kept up this kind of behavior. Sighing, she glanced at him.

"Perhaps if I stay over we can do something early in the morning before we even need to start administering the tests."

Despite their current discussion, his face brightened. "I think he would love that! Where would you like your room Hermione? All the rooms can be prepared in an instant, just tell me."

She shook her head. "The room I had last night is fine, really." She gave him a soft smile. "We can spare those poor elves just a bit."

He gave her a strange look at that comment, but said nothing as they stepped away from the floo. He simply looked elated that he was going to get to do something for his son. "If you insist," he said smoothly, stepping back to give her a bit of space. "If you would like I can find something else for you to wear outside that ratty attire you keep putting on."

The brunette's expression hardened. "I like my clothes, thank you. I will be fine rewashing them tonight and wearing them for one more day tomorrow." Ignoring his horrified expression at her words, she turned quickly and hurried off. The man was being unusually kind, even given their newfound tolerance of each other. She didn't understand.

Hermione shunned the thought of not understanding even as she disappeared from his view. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't understand, but perhaps that she was frightened to.

* * *

As expected, she ignored anything he said involving house elves. She hadn't exactly tried to instill her elf plan into the blonde so far, and she wondered if he even remembered S.P.E.W from school. But it didn't matter, so long as she wasn't ungrateful to the little creatures like every other wizard out there. She even washed her own clothing that night, an action that Draco found appalling. He even turned in early to avoid, "getting dirty water" on himself. She rolled her eyes at him.

In the solitude of her room, she could feel her life's depression slipping back. Her parents had been dead for many days now and she had yet to do a single thing in honor of them. She wasn't getting things in order for a funeral (the muggle police were still holding the bodies, declaring that they were too baffled to offer a release on them) or returning to her childhood home to begin wading through the river of memories there. No, instead she was at Malfoy Manor, sleeping in one of the hundreds of guest rooms, ignoring her problems. What would they say if they saw her now?

She sighed. She hadn't done much for them at all, and that thought alone caused her spirits to drop further. The girl continued to use Scorpius and Draco as an excuse, repeatedly saying to herself that she needed to help them first. Maybe she speculated that if she helped the young boy, she would be doing something right to make up for her blatant disrespect towards her parents. She just wasn't sure if her reasoning was logical anymore. After all, they were her parents and she could not simply ignore the things that needed to be done after someone's passing. She was a Healer for Circe's sake! She dealt with people losing relatives on a day-to-day basis at St. Mungo's, yet faced with the situation herself she didn't have the first idea as to how to handle things.

She felt like a hypocrite.

And Draco offering to let her stay was just another method of persuasion in her mind to avoid being responsible for things. She wanted to honor her parents and give them a proper burial, but that was difficult if authorities in the muggle world had custody of the bodies. She knew a few Unforgiveable Curses that could solve this little problem for her, but she would never cross that line. She didn't believe she could.

The blonde was just a handy distraction. A rather handsome distraction that crossed her mind a hair too much for her own good when they were together; even after his strange behavior today, she wasn't entirely sure that he liked her. She was never very good at knowing when people liked her.

Hermione wasn't even sure how she would respond if he actually did have a thing for her. That would be one of the strangest things to ever happen if someone asked her, yet she couldn't deny that the idea made her feel a bit better. She hadn't been with anyone in a relationship in a long time, and the idea was tingling. She might be out of practice, but if he really did like her then she would certainly be ready to recall old skills.

_Don't be too eager about that Princess. He has always been a heartbreaker. _

She cringed at the invasive voice. Crabbe, it had to be him. But why was he intruding now?

"_That was also during our school years Crabbe, before your death. He has changed, grown and matured even if he can still be a child at times. He's been married, and surprisingly he was the loyal one in the relationship. Don't accuse someone of anything if you haven't been around them for years." _

Even to herself, Hermione thought she sounded a bit defensive. Now that was strange.

_He has changed, yes indeed. But his changing ways are to appeal to you._

"_You don't know anything about that. As I've been told he never hears anything in his head. No, that's a pleasure saved specifically for me. If you can't read his thoughts, how do you know what he is thinking at this age?"_

_I cannot read his mind, Princess, because he is blocked. Perhaps if you were a skilled Occlumens and Legilimens then you wouldn't have this dear problem._

Hermione paused, thinking about that. The pair had vaguely discussed the topic at one point, but she knew they really hadn't gone into detail. Crabbe had to know about it though, if he was really trying to invade his mind.

"_Leave me alone Crabbe. I didn't wish to speak to you in the first place."_

_Ah, Princess. Do you really think that I come around to only bother you? I have my reasons for coming tonight._

"_Usually you are only around to speak nonsense in my mind. You come and invade my thoughts even during personal times. Get out!"_

_If you insist, Hermione Granger, then it is done. But I have one single question before I leave. _

"_What is it? Just leave me alone."_

_Are you married?_

She paused again, thrown by his question. Why would Crabbe think such a silly thing if he could read her thoughts. Sure, she had a part of her mind that she could cloak away, but her non-existent love life wasn't something she was hiding. Was this a joke?

"_Never. Now leave me alone."_

The girl expected another reply, perhaps something snarky to go after her horrid admittance. She might still be in her mid-twenties, but she was single and in her mid-twenties. That didn't spell a lot of hope over her if she was to have children some day at all.

Thankfully, the bloke left her alone after that. She was a bit apprehensive to start thinking about anything after that, for fear that he would pop in again and give her his two cents. All she wanted was the right to her solitude so she could cry, yet each time he appeared he took away any sense of comfort she had around herself. If she wouldn't indulge to Malfoy about her personal problems, why would she speak to someone that attempted to touch her earlier that day and entered her mind whenever he pleased?

Sighing, she undressed from the make-shift dress she had created after leaving her clothing to dry overnight down in the laundry room. A house elf would bring the finished garments upstairs in the morning, despite her protests. She just didn't think the potato-sack type dress would be the comfortable to sleep in. Besides, she still had her underwear on, so she wasn't entirely naked yet.

Crawling beneath the blankets on her bed, she hid her face in the pillows. Despite everything, thoughts crept back into her mind no matter what she did. The girl just hoped that Crabbe minded his distance and got the point that she didn't care to have his comments inserted into her memories, her pain. If she could, the girl never wanted to have to face the world again.

There were still so many things to be done, regarding both her personal life as well as the part of her job that circulated around the Malfoy's. If nothing else, she hoped for some progress tomorrow.

* * *

Draco was awake far too early that day. It was barely half past four in the morning, yet he was up wandering through his home. The cake that had been bought and prepared yesterday still hid downstairs in the kitchens, and he was pleased to find that it still looked perfect when he went down there. His son wouldn't even wake until around eight, but nonetheless he wanted things to be perfect. Hermione's stunt late last night caused a delay in the festivities that they had prepared and he wouldn't stand for the same setback again. He wanted his son to have something to enjoy.

Problem was that he hadn't really had anything to check. He still had no intention of inviting Blaise and Lizzy until he knew his son wouldn't harm the little girl, meaning that really the only people there would be his son, Hermione and himself. It would be smaller than anything the child had ever experienced, but he didn't think Scorpius would mind this time. Anything that didn't have to do with Healers would probably make the child grin ear to ear.

At least, that's what the father hoped. And now that everything had been checked over that he could find, he found himself very awake without anything to do. If he wasn't so weary of the woods outside his home, he might just go flying, but he wasn't sure what else might be lurking in the shadows anymore. He meant what he told his son a year ago about the woods being something unknown and fearful, he just never put a lot of thought around why exactly that might be. Now, the thoughts played around too much in his mind and he didn't want to be attacked as well. Where would they be then?

He argued the same point several times in his mind as he walked. There was someone he could go see at this early hour in the Manor, but he wasn't sure his appearance would be appreciated. They had parted ways at nearly one, meaning that she had only been asleep for two hours. The woman could be a good conversationalist at times, but he wasn't sure that a conversation was worth possibly getting his head ripped off for waking a sleeping female. He was hesitant to go see her.

But he had a library full of books that she might enjoy, and perhaps he could bribe her to wake up just for that. He didn't enjoy this lonely walk all that much, not when he knew he could have company if he really tried. Wandering past her door for the first time that night in deep thought, he paused. Something caught his attention and he leaned over, gently pressing his ear to the wood surface.

_Whimpering. _He could hear the strangled sniffles, as though the woman had been sobbing. If the sobs had been loud though, he missed the show. Emotions sounded like they were still playing with her though, and he listened again as the noise increased. She sounded distraught.

He reached up to knock, then retracted his hand. If he knocked, he was fairly certain the smart woman would compose herself before answering the door. She had to know by this point that he could see that something was wrong, he just didn't know what. But Merlin, he wanted to know.

Chancing his luck, he reached for the doorknob and turned the handle slowly. Surprisingly, the room wasn't locked and he easily got the door open. Carefully easing his way into the door, he was thankful that the corridor was so ill-lit. No new light shined into the room, and she didn't startle. Hopefully, he wouldn't scare her.

Getting into the room, he only closed the door halfway again before fixating his eyes on the form on the bed. Her body was turned down into the sheets, and her back and shoulders shook softly beneath the blanket. Whatever troubled her obviously had her very distressed.

He cleared his throat, remaining by the door just in case she reached for her wand. The girl spun around instantly, grabbing for the weapon as he predicted. But she didn't immediately fire at him.

She just sat there, studying the outline of his face in the deep shadows.

"Malfoy?" she asked, and he was surprised that she actually got it right. Half a second later, he cursed himself for his foolishness. He was the only other adult in the bloody house.

"Something wrong Hermione?" he asked kindly, keeping his tone even. She kept herself beneath the blanket but turned away, tapping at the lights nearby, as well as lighting anything that was away from her. The room lit up, and she seemed a bit more at ease.

"I thought you would be asleep," she said blandly.

"I was up looking over things for my son's birthday," he replied, shrugging. "Couldn't sleep, thought I might wander through the halls. That's when I heard you."

She blushed. She might've sounded loud to herself, but considering that he slept in the next hall she didn't think he would hear anything. But he did hear her distress as he was apparently walking by, and she didn't like that. He wasn't supposed to know that she was so upset. This was her problem.

"I see," she said, dropping her eyes. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to bother you."

"It's not a bother," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "I'm merely curious as to what has you in such distress. Something's been bothering you for a while, but I never quiet thought the problem would be something that would reduce you to tears. Gryffindor's princess isn't that known for crying."

Hermione shrugged in return, uncomfortable. She knew he was curious about the things that made her late so often, and what seemed to keep her emotionally unstable. But he didn't know if she wanted him actually knowing.

"Everyone cries," she deduced, turning things to a logical standpoint. "Everyone needs to on occasion."

"Then what's your occasion?" he asked, leaning against the wall behind him. She watched, but said nothing. When she rolled over without a word, he stepped forward until he was close enough to sit on her bed.

"That's a rather poor method of ignoring me. I can still see you, and you can still hear everything I say. I didn't really think you would turn away from a verbal fight so very quickly."

She shrugged. "Leave me alone Draco."

"Well," he said, sitting on the side of the mattress that she was trying to avoid, "I don't quite think that would be a good idea. Something's been bothering you for weeks Hermione, and I want to know what it is. Whether you wish to admit it or not, it affects you a lot. And the less you try to compress emotions the better you are going to feel. If those ridiculous friends of yours can't help you, then perhaps I can."

She shook her head against the pillows. "It's my problem, I'll handle it myself. I don't think anyone can help me at this point."

Behind her, he adjusted on the bed, and she felt that side of the mattress dip further, as though his whole body was on it now. "You're not doing a very good job of helping yourself though," he rationed.

The girl rolled over quickly, careful to keep the blanket pulled high and tight on her body. "You don't know anything about my situation. You would never understand. You can't help me."

He was lounging on the bed now, and she felt that she should feel more uncomfortable than she did. Something about him being so close didn't scare her as much as she first thought it would.

"I can't understand better than anyone else unless you drop your guard and tell me what's gotten you so worked up," he challenged, getting a moment to study her face for the first time since entering the room. Her eyes were very red, as though she had been crying for a while. He tilted his head, speculating at how long.

He could see her lip quivering. "My problems don't have to be your problems; you have enough of your own."

The blonde chuckled at that. "Mine never had to be your problems either. If I recall correctly, you asked to be on this case specifically. So now I'm asking you to let me into your head so I can help you."

At first, her movements were very tentative and unsure. She scooted closer on the bed, leaning towards him as though she planned to place her head on his chest. But the girl was hesitant of herself, and he watched her second guess her choice twice before he rolled his eyes. She overthought things sometimes. Snaking an arm around her without waiting for her consent, he pulled her closer and she followed all too willingly.

He could sense her breaking as he sat up straighter, allowing for the witch to cradle herself in his lap. Her form shook against his, but he didn't see anything dripping down her face as she pressed one side of it against his chest. She looked afraid, but she wasn't crying anymore. Hermione just shook.

The girl was surprised when cool fingers found the naked skin of her back, and for a moment she froze, waiting for the cruel comment to fall from his mouth. But he didn't say anything on the matter, and she relaxed into his touch. Obviously, she was a bit too paranoid about his reactions just then.

She felt him trace little patterns on her naked flesh, calming her senses down with each light, fluid stroke. Harry and Ron could never calm her down this smoothly, even after years of friendship. Maybe it was just the gentle pattern he was drawing on her, or perhaps it was the blonde himself that calmed her hysteria. She wasn't sure which.

At some point she relaxed into his form, her hands no longer balled into fists to control her emotions. The soft touches he administered calmed her in a way she had never experienced before, to a point where she felt she might fall asleep.

"What's wrong Hermione?" he asked slowly, breaking the sense of tranquility that she had about her. She jolted in his grasp, glancing up at him from her perch on his lap.

"Are you still on that?" she asked, her voice coming out scratchy. He rolled his eyes, the answer seemingly obvious. "Draco…"

"You don't have to tell me everything," he said again with a sigh, "Just tell me something. If you are going to be doing this a lot, I better at least know what's going on in that head of yours."

She pursed her lips. What exactly did he mean by that? Was he saying that she might be able to find him again if she needed comfort? "It's complicated."

"Is anything ever easy with you?" His movements on her back continued, spreading further across the bare skin. The circles grew larger, and she felt herself relaxing again. "Just say something Granger. It's a bit alarming to find you like this in the middle of the night and not know what is going on in your head. It makes it harder to help."

The girl sighed, pushing away from him. The blankets around her slipped a hair, but if he saw anything of her the former heartthrob had nothing to say. She wasn't sure that was a good thing. "It's my parents. Something has happened to them."

"Something bad I'm guessing?"

She nodded slowly. "Very."

"Is it something you can help them with?" he asked, grasping for more information. But again, the scantily clad girl shook her head, sinking lower on the bed.

"Never. Never again."

Something clicked in his head at that, and he tilted it to look at her closer. Realization was dawning on him, but he made sure to not let his emotions show through. He wasn't sure if she simply wasn't listening to herself anymore, or if she just didn't notice her slip-up, but nonetheless she didn't look concerned by her choice of words just then. Draco decided she was probably just distracted.

He reached over, grazing her hairline with his fingers. Her eyes fluttered shut at that, and he smirked. She apparently enjoyed it when he touched her like that.

"I see," was all he gave in response, continuing to trace the outline of her face. If she thought his actions were strange, she didn't comment on it. He wondered why.

The blonde remained there in her bed a long time, until he felt her breathing deepen and he knew she was asleep. Smiling softly, he sat there and continued to watch her. This was a strange occurrence indeed.

By the time he decided he should leave, he found that his body had grown weary. Glancing at the girl once more, a thought crossed his mind. He might get some important body parts ripped off for this in the morning, but the opportunity seemed too good. Slipping in beside her, he made himself comfortable next to her nearly naked frame. It felt right to be sleeping there at her side.

If he had only gone back to his bedroom, he would've noticed the angry form of a retreating figure, his eyes burning with a fury that could only be defined as _jealously._

* * *

**A/n: **Thoughts? I know it's not the most dramatic chapter in history, but I think it works. It's setting us up for things in the future, plus we needed to look into some Dramione at some point, right? Also, the conversation between Crabbe and Hermione in italics has "" around anything Hermione says, but Crabbe's sentences are only in the italics. Thought I would clear that up if anyone was confused.

Leave a comment! I need ideas to get a sense of what you people are thinking will happen in future chapters! You can also check out my new story _Secrets After Death _if you want to read something else dark by me :)


	18. The Anger

**A/n:** Lots of Adam in here, and some not so kind things happen. No warnings though because it's nothing too horrible. Check me out on Facebook to follow my page; the link is on my profile ;) Thanks to my betas **Tessa Cresswell **and** JDeppIsMyLovely**!

* * *

**The Anger**

When he awoke only a few hours later, he found himself alone. Straining his ears as the blonde attempted to fight through his weariness, he noted that he could hear the shower running. She was preparing for the day already, and he took more than a bit of pride in knowing that she hadn't kicked him out when she woke up. Perhaps that was a good sign.

Stealing away from her room, he hurried back to his own. A quick shower would have to do, and then he would go and grab the birthday bits. He wanted his son to have a good birthday.

Wandering back to his bedroom, he paused in the hallway. He thought for a moment he heard breathing, and regretted leaving his wand on his bedside table. Slowing his steps, he moved forward slowly, wondering just who he was hearing. His son should still be asleep, and Granger was back in her room. So who was this?

Checking around the corner as well as several other hallways, he found nothing. Whatever he heard was obviously a figment of his imagination. Clearing his head, he wearily peeked into his son's room to ensure that everything was alright. Seeing that it was, he sighed and headed to his room. He was jumpy this morning, but his uncertainty was obviously unneeded.

Or maybe he just gave up too early finding the source.

* * *

Draco couldn't help grinning. If anyone was ever a good sport about things, Healer Granger was. It was barely eight yet there she was, smiling with his son as the child devoured the cake they had created, grinning the entire time at the pleasant surprise. And she had yet to complain about the early hour.

Scorpius looked unimaginably happy. He loved it. Not only did this happen to be the happiest he had been in ages, but the boy was also eating, something that had been a concern for weeks. He was just relieved that his son still knew how to be a kid, despite everything.

Yet the blonde man didn't stay long. He told Hermione- who didn't seem to believe him-that he needed to investigate something crucial in the library quickly. She glowered after him as he left, leaving a down-trodden boy in his wake. If anything, Draco missed the moment when his son's happiness deflated due to his untimely departure. He couldn't help it though; he had something bothering him in the back of his mind.

He thought he heard breathing again, though the idea was truly delusional. Both Hermione and Scorpius were in the bedroom, and it was likely he just heard one of them. But he found himself drawn to a window down the hall, a large stained-glass piece that overlooked the outdoors. Peering out the intricate design, he noticed a figure standing down in the gloomy shadows of morning, grinning up at him. He glared down at the figure.

Yet Crabbe didn't seem intimidated one bit by the blonde's appearance, only grinned in return. He raised an arm, waving up at him. It didn't pass the blonde that he waved with only a certain amount of fingers, and dread filled his chest as he realized it indicated to the amount of days he had left.

Something inside him twisted then. A sickening feeling overtook his core, and he darkened his gaze down at the figure. He wasn't sure if the simple gesture was a genuine reminder or a taunt at his inability to extract information from a former classmate. He bit his tongue, fighting back a string of dark words that he could aim at Crabbe by simply opening the elaborate window. Yet he held back, watching the figure instead.

He didn't like this, not one bit.

* * *

When Hermione left with the blonde later, she was not only uncomfortable, but confused. His reaction earlier during the brief birthday celebration towards his son seemed unusual, considering how much he pushed for this little event. She couldn't fathom what would draw his attention away from the situation, but his poor excuse for leaving would not excuse his behavior. Once they were done visiting Cho for the second time, she fully intended to confront him about that. The poor boy's spirits were crushed when his father departed.

But for the time being, she had other things to focus her attention on- like Chang. Last time was extremely un-productive, and she could only imagine what this visit would bring. The woman was unsettled by their very presence, so what would she do when they truly pushed for answers this time. Last time Hermione dragged the blonde out before he got too angry, but this time she wasn't so sure. Cho was hiding something, and the brunette was certain it was for entirely selfish reasons.

Hopefully Draco would control his temper.

_Don't count on it Princess. He has always been a hot-head. _

She cringed as they climbed the stairs. She did not appreciate the continuous interruptions. The girl didn't even realize that she was lost in thought until she heard the sound of knocking and blinked, realizing that Draco was knocking on the door. They had gotten there quite quickly that morning.

Taking a breath, she glanced his way. "Ready?"

"Ready is an understatement," he replied crudely, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I just want to get this over with. The sooner we understand whatever bloody happened between the time that Vincent died and the time he awoke in my woods, the better. Then Crabbe can talk, and stop delaying things. I'm tired of waiting around."

Hermione paused then, inclining an eyebrow as it grew silent. "You seem tense."

"I am." They fell silent, and she let the uncomfortable situation go on. After finding him in her bed this morning, she was surprised that she didn't feel more awkward. But just then she knew that it wasn't the time to even begin trying to discuss these things.

Several moments passed, and they exchanged a glance. The house inside was silent, and they had yet to even hear a shuffle with strained ears. He cocked an eyebrow, knocking harder this time. "Chang! Open up! We really need to talk!"

Hermione stood at his side, feeling unease seeping into her. Something didn't seem right about this, considering that at least the last time you could hear people scrambling around attempting to hide. Again she looked at Draco, and he was looking right back.

"Seems very quiet inside," she noted, looking around. There wasn't a lot of traffic on the street, and everyone that lived around there seemed to be making themselves scarce that morning.

"Indeed," he replied, stepping away from the door. He wandered the length of her front yard only once, with the brunette watching his every move. At one point he glanced her way, nodding to the right with his head. "Come here."

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"We're going to investigate," he said simply, turning to walk behind the side of the house. With him out of her sight, she felt goose-bumps crawl up her arms. Something seemed severely wrong, and after only a moment of hesitation, she hurried after him, deciding she wasn't comfortable there on the front steps. The atmosphere was terribly thick.

"Malfoy," she hissed, following after him. She thought it was strange that they could get so close to the house, especially since Cho's home should be warded. After a bloody war, one would think she would be a little less trusting of people. Yet the blonde was easily able to open the gate to her backyard, slipping through without even a thread of resistance. It didn't make her feel any better.

"We're trespassing," she muttered as they wandered through the backyard. He sighed at that and glanced her way, scowling.

"Do you have a better way of getting in then?" he snapped. She knew that he also felt how unsettling things were, but at least the man was better at concealing his emotions. She was almost jealous of him for that. In response, she only shrugged.

By now they both had their wands drawn, and she was walking closely behind him. Cho's back door was made of glass, and it only took a minor spell to undo the lock and open it up. Inside, it was apparent that something was wrong.

The downstairs living room was ajar, and furniture was toppled over. A few piles of dust lay around the ground, blown around by the breeze allowed in from an open window. She exchanged a glance with the blonde again, tightening her grip on the wand. She didn't like this one bit.

"Stay with me," he said simply, and she wasn't about to argue. If the source of this battle was still someplace in the house, then she preferred to wander as a pair. She might need to check Cho if anything was seriously wrong.

They checked the entire downstairs without finding anything or anyone, even the little girl. Feeling a bit strange, Hermione followed Draco to the second floor of the complex, wondering if she really wanted to find anything there at all. She was getting a sickening feeling in her stomach.

The pair parted ways upstairs, deciding to wander down the narrow hallway, opening doors opposite each other as they went. She was almost to the final one when he grabbed her shoulder, yanking her around. She stumbled at the sudden action, and made to glare at him before something caught her eye, obviously the source of his sudden movement.

A figure lay on the floor, her hair hiding her face and the majority of one side of her lay coated in blood. Shoving past the blonde, she hurried in, her senses taking over. This was her profession after all.

Moving the woman's hair back from her face, she studied her only briefly. There was bruising, but nothing that she wasn't prepared for. Checking for a pulse, she ran her wand over Chang's body, muttering spells beneath her breath. Draco moved up behind the brunette and watched silently, saying nothing as she worked.

"This isn't good," Hermione said after only a moment. "Go find her floo system. Send an emergency notice to St. Mungo's that someone needs to get down here- now!"

He studied the two women a moment. "You think that's a good idea? They might be suspicious-"

"Stop worrying about yourself for a moment," she snapped, glancing over her shoulder. "I'm a Healer, not a miracle worker. I need you to get some other people here fast- I don't know what caused this. Stop worrying about what people might think and just go!"

The blonde went without another word. She wasn't sure if he was simply off-put by her tone or if the seriousness of the situation was finally sinking into his head, but she didn't care. Apparently, so long as he didn't care about you he didn't give a fuck what happened to you. She didn't spend the time to consider that statement herself, and returned immediately to studying the unconscious girl.

But Cho was alive, and for the moment that was the most important thing. So long as she could keep her stable, there might just be a chance to save the battered woman. But even as she worked, one question persisted to bother her at the back of her mind.

Who would do this?

* * *

"Is she going to be alright?"

The brunette nodded, taking a seat on the hallway floor. "I stabilized her before they even arrived. She's here now, and her condition can only get better from this point. The blood was fresh on her, meaning the attack didn't happen very long ago. It could've been only a few hours before we arrived."

They were talking in the middle of one of St. Mungo's hallways, conversing about the incident at Cho's house. Draco didn't seem as unsettled by the situation as before, but she could still tell he was as tense as ever. The man wouldn't even sit down and relax for a moment.

"Doesn't it seem a bit coincidental," he muttered, running pale fingers through his fine locks. She nodded from below him, unwilling to voice her own thoughts on the matter in such a public place. Since the woman had no way of determining exactly what had happened- much less who was responsible- she wasn't entirely sure who to trust. In all actuality, it could be anyone.

But she already had her mind set on who it had to be.

"I don't think we should be talking about this here," she said, standing again. It didn't appear that anyone was paying them any mind, but she didn't want to take any chances. "Cho won't be able to even speak for several days, much less give us a reasonable explanation to things. I don't think we will do anything good by hanging around. I've already been advised by my boss Mr. Williams to go back to the Manor to continue studying Scorpius. I think he just wants me out of this place."

Draco raised an eyebrow at that, glancing over her head. A man stood at the end of the hallway lacking the common Healer robes, speaking to two magical medics. He seemed to be ordering the pair around, and Malfoy could only assume that this was the supposed boss. In all honesty he did not look too pleasant.

"I agree," he said dully, brushing past her. He was angry at the entire situation, but he refused to vent in such a public place. Merlin knew what kind of lame gossip would arise from that. But if Cho was fine, then he had no reason to remain there. He didn't want to be wasting time there if he didn't need to be, especially when the entire purpose of coming out and dealing with people was to obtain the needed information. Now there would be a delay in getting what he wanted, and that did not make him a happy camper.

He could only imagine Crabbe's fucking reaction. That is, if Crabbe wasn't somehow involved. He had his doubts about the entire situation. Everything seemed just a little too well planned. He had a sinking feeling that someone knew that they were going to arrive there that day, and the attacker made sure that Chang would be of no use to them. He was partially surprised that she wasn't dead.

"I think we have things to discuss," he said as they walked, her footsteps nearly in rythmatic with his own. "Several things."

"We can only discuss what we understand," she replied, following him to the floo system. She wondered if he realized he could apparate home. But from the way the blonde man was acting, she doubted he was thinking that far along.

"No," he replied bitterly, snatching up a handful of floo powder, his mind spinning even as he spoke, "That's not true. You're not the only person I plan to speak to."

* * *

He sat on the lavish couch, ignorantly studying his fingers as he searched for something interesting. Across from him, the woman sat on a chair, nervously squeezing her hands.

"Are you sure everything is alright? I mean-"

"I said everything is fine Astoria!" He stood, brushing off his robes. He had been waiting for the woman for a few hours now, having obtained the tidbits of information from her late last night. To be frank, he was surprised she came to him at all. "You must learn to be patient."

The woman frowned, biting her lip as she studied Adam. He might've been a fun toy for a few hours, but in the aftermath the former Mrs. Malfoy was growing weary of his presence. The woman who arrived late last night set her off, making her feel more like used goods than anything. Who was this woman, and why did she seem so intimate with Adam? Her abnormally pale skin made her think of Draco, and that was yet another unpleasant thing. She did not want to put a single thought into that man anymore, not when he so easily dropped her from his life. He was supposed to miss her more than that!

"I'm only wondering what is so very important that you must pace this room while awaiting her appearance!" Astoria retorted with a scowl. Again, Adam gave her a cold look. He really wasn't one for conversation.

"It's none of your business," he replied darkly, pausing in front of her. "I just have some business matters to attend to." When she said nothing more, he began wandering again.

"What kind of business matters?" she muttered half a moment later. He spun on her when he was close, raising a hand as though to strike her. She threw an arm up to shield her face, but the blow never came. A knock on the door seemed to cause the world to stand still a moment, and she only lowered her defensive pose when she heard him walking away. Watching the man open the door, she stared at his back in horror. Merlin's balls, this wasn't the person who romanced her only a handful of hours before. He had mood swings like she changed lipstick; often.

Whatever business was exchanged at the door ended up lost to Astoria's ears. She didn't pick up on the conversation really, for once she adverted her look of horror away from Adam's back she noticed that the woman was glaring in her direction. Frowning, she held the gaze. Bloody hell, now what had she done? She didn't even know this woman well enough to offend her, did she?

Astoria shook her head, trying to clear her mind. When she finally came out of her mindless thoughts, she only caught the tail-end of the conversation. "…Sarafene, it's appreciated."

"I know," the woman purred in a way that made Astoria's stomach flip. She had made that same noise on many an occasion whenever she wanted to seduce. For her own sake, the divorced woman hoped the unknown girl wouldn't try that right now. She didn't quite think she could stomach the image.

"I'll be in contact," he said shortly, bidding her goodbye. If the pale woman was at all offended by how quickly he dismissed her, she didn't let on. Sarafene disappeared just as quickly as she had come, and Adam turned back to the woman left in his apartment.

"Something wrong?" he asked kindly, his anger diminished. She blinked, thrown again by his ability to switch moods as though at the click of a button. He really was a strange creature.

"Nothing," she replied, giving him a faint smile. It seemed best not to say anything that might offend him, not until she actually understood what was going on in his mind.

He sat beside her. "Excellent," the man said, giving her a devilish grin. A hand landed on her thigh, tracing small circles that slowly climbed up her soft skin. "I was hoping you would still be in a fine mood."

"Yes," Astoria cooed, though she was uncertain now. She didn't know what he was playing at, or why this "Sarafene" woman seemed so important to him. All she understood was that he was creating tantalizing feelings on her skin, and she was far too used to being touched like this by dangerous men.

Adam was grinning wider. Leaning over, he bit her ear. "Just relax Astoria. Let me wipe your mind away."

And she did. She gave in, her old tendencies coming into play. As his fingers brushed a barely concealed package of heat between her legs, she groaned. Maybe she could forgive him.

Or perhaps she was just too manipulated.

* * *

"He's setting us up," the blonde seethed, storming through his living room. Hermione barely got through in time to hear him say that, let alone chase after him as he stormed down the stairs, having to be preparing to leave through the outside door. She had a good idea where he was headed.

"We don't know that," she countered, though an image flashed through her mind even as she spoke Cringing, she wished she understood the situation better. Nevertheless, she didn't want him storming outside past the security of the boundary. Unfortunately, she was fairly certain he planned to do just that. "Stop it!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" he hissed. "I'm sick of being manipulated. He's going to pay." The blonde quickened his pace, the determined note in his tone causing Hermione to shiver. He was so angry, his voice had grown calm. She assumed that wasn't a good thing.

Stepping in front of him, she pressed herself to the outside door half a moment before he could grab the handle. His eyes narrowed to slits at her actions, and though he tried to grab her shoulder and force her out of the way, she didn't look very compelled to move. And he didn't look estactic at the prospect of manhandling her just to get out a bloody door.

"Move!"

"You're going to make a mistake by going out there," she said, staring into his eyes. "Look, you and I both saw the bites on Chang's neck, and we very well know that it will cause questions to arise later. Merlin knows what this means, much less how her body will react. She might become the same thing that your son is, something that we can't explain but a person that can survive." She brushed his hand off. "You're just infuriated that something has gotten in the way of you helping your son!"

"Do you blame me?" he spat, his hand moving lower on her body. Her eyes grew large for a moment, wondering what his intentions were. Any fears she had were dashed when he dipped his hand into her trouser pocket, pulling out the necklace Crabbe gave to her a while back. For some reason though, she didn't feel any different about the reassurance that he wasn't going to touch her. But was that good or bad?

"Crabbe gave you this fucking thing because he wanted us to use it against Cho," he said, dangling the item in front of her face. "He gave it to us with the intention of aiding us in being able to get some answers. Yet when we go out we somehow find Chang beaten, bitten, and bloody. Seems a bit too coincidental and far too convenient on their side to just be a coincidence."

"I agree," Hermione said, holding up one hand. "I'm not arguing against you that things seem a bit strange. But that doesn't mean it was necessarily Crabbe. There's a group of them after all. Any one of them could be involved in this mess, or even none of them at all."

He turned away from her, clenching and unclenching his hands. "It's one of them Hermione, I know it. Look, you're not daft. You woke before me this morning, so you know that I slept in your bed for a few hours. On the way back to my room, I thought I heard something. When I couldn't locate anything, I gave up my search. But then later on during my son's shitty little party- which I am fairly certain I ruined by the way- I felt very uneasy. I went walking, and I came to a hallway where we have a stained glass design on the window at the end. Peering out, I saw Crabbe grinning and waving at me, indicating with his fingers the measly amount of days that we have left." He hit the wall, and surprisingly Hermione didn't flinch. "I know it was him. He's delaying letting us get anything done, and once our time is up he is going to use that as a fucking excuse to reveal nothing more. He's going to try to weasel his way out of having to help with anything at all. It's cowardly."

The brunette was quiet for many moments, processing the information he gave to her. She had been wondering about his uncharacteristic behavior that morning during an event that was quite obviously important to him, but even now she didn't fully understand his reactions. Weren't his wards overly refreshed and strengthened? What exactly did he have to fear about someone getting in?

She didn't quite understand his reasoning. But that wasn't why she came up with the response that she did. "You can't just blame someone when you are angry with them, Draco. In all regards, you do have many reasons to not favor Crabbe. But that doesn't give you an excuse to blame him for what happened to Cho. We have no way of knowing that yet. Stop letting your anger overpower your judgment. It might seem like a logical answer, but there are flaws to your thinking."

He scowled at her. "I know you always have a reason for critiquing what I think. But someone is fucking with everything again. I can't stand for it! You don't understand what problems like these are like Granger! You never speak up about your issues."

"I have plenty of problems of my own," she retorted defensively.

Draco scoffed. "Yes, the plentiful amount of problems that you seem to refuse to discuss with anyone. It's not like your secrets can alarm me all that much you know. Think about what I'm going through! Do you think you can alarm me with anything new? No! Yet you remain stubborn, and you refuse to tell me what you're thinking, much less how you feel about anything. At the very least my emotions are blatantly obvious!"

"They're too obvious!" she spat, but her rant ended there. Maybe if he wasn't so worked up, he might notice the uncertainty and pain in her eyes. But alas, he did not.

"I don't know if you understand how hard it is to watch someone you love suffer like this! All I'm trying to do is keep my son living a semi-normal life, yet everything keeps getting worse! You have no idea what it's like to keep trying for things like this, and to be constantly disappointed because nothing works out!"

"You don't know anything about what I've experienced!" she retorted, shoving away from the door. He didn't step back though, and they found themselves very close together.

"Your life may have been hard during the war when so many people wanted nothing more than to tear you apart, but things are different now. You might not be fucking married or have any fucking offspring, but your life is not without compassion. It might come as a bloody fucking surprise Hermione, but Scorp is really all I have. I don't have a wife, and I don't have parents to watch over me, no matter how horrible they were at it. I have Blaise and Pansy for friends, but that's really where the list ends. Don't even begin to give me a lecture about what you've experienced, when you must be living a rather perfect life now that you are a renowned war hero with a stellar job. Our fucking lives don't even compare!"

She shoved him then, hard, causing him to stumble back a step or two. His eyes opened a hair in shock, but he didn't let any other emotion shine through on his face. At least, not until her wand was to his throat and she had him backing into the wall. Then he was a bit alarmed.

"Don't tell me my life is perfect!" she screamed, jabbing at his jugular as her tone increased. "Don't tell me that our lives don't compare! You think my life is picturesque? You don't know anything about it! You don't know what I go through! You don't know what I deal with! And you certainly don't know how hard I try!"

"Hermione," he croaked, uncomfortable with the hysterical witch still having a powerful weapon shoved against his throat. "Look, if you don't mind-"

"Do you think everything you read in those papers is the truth or something?! Just because I am depicted to have an excellent life in trendy magazines and high profile news articles doesn't mean it's the reality of my existence. I work hard; I fight for all my money on my reasonable salary! And you know what Draco? It never amounted to enough! You complain that your parents aren't around, but neither are mine! I couldn't fucking afford to do anything the right way, and I respected their wishes too fucking much to do it my way." He felt the wand quiver against his skin, but her grip didn't lesson.

"You think my life is perfect," she remarked in a quieter voice, "But I'm so far from perfect. I don't tell people about my problems, because they shouldn't have to deal with them. And you've asked multiple times what it is that has my mind in different places during important times. You want to know what it is Malfoy? You really want to pry your way into my secrets this way?!"

"Hermione, I-"

"My parents are dead," she spat, causing him to go still. "Someone killed them, back in the fucking muggle hospital I left them in. And I'm going to figure out who it is Draco, mark my words. They are going to pay."

* * *

**A/n:** Different approach in this chapter! Thoughts? Please let me know!


	19. The Thoughts

**Disclaimer**: I don't own this. If I did, I would be making my own stories instead of spinning off other people's amazing plots.

**A/n:** I quite like this chapter. It looks at a lot. And we see different things than what has been touched on in the past. Thanks again to my beta(s) **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Thougths**

At first, he didn't say anything at all to her statement. He just stared at her, surprise decorating the contents of his face. If he had been expecting her to say something, that wasn't what he was anticipating. Perhaps a lovers spat, but not this.

She was breathing hard, her pent up anger slowly estinguishing. But he could tell that she was still visibly hurting, and though the girl wasn't resolving to tears in that moment he knew her anger was disappearing. She got what she wanted to say out, and he wondered when the waterworks would come. Yet Hermione just continued to stand in front of the blonde, breathing hard, hands balled into fists.

She wanted him to say something. She wanted him to be stupid so she could scream again. But she dashed that hope away as he reached out and gently caressed the side of her cheek, the soft touch melting her resolve. The girl closed her eyes at the soft gesture.

There was no anger in his touch, no agitation, no fear. He didn't seem to be panicking about her admittance at all. Hermione wasn't sure if that was good or not. She still had one arm holding a wand, a weapon of choice that was roughly pressed to his throat. In her flurry of emotion, she wondered how he kept his cool. The brunette knew she would be a bit agitated that she was going to be hexed at any moment.

The two were away from the door now, and with nothing to lean against the girl wondered if she would collapse from her overexertion of emotion. She felt the blonde's other hand gently close over her own that still held the weapon, gently moving the wood away from his skin. Hermione dropped it, hearing it clatter on the fine stone floor.

No longer did she have the desire to scream. Now she felt her walls collapsing, her confidence wavering. This was Draco Malfoy after all, someone she should be very guarded around. But she had left him to sleep in her bed, let him touch bare skin. Now he was witnessing primal, raw emotion. Maybe it wasn't so very bad to let him exhibit some sort of empathy towards her.

Hermione didn't like it. She didn't enjoy the feeling of slowly losing control as his hands rubbed up and down her loose arms, laying slack at her sides. She didn't appreciate the slight tremor of her lip as reality set in, as she brutally came face to face with the truth once again that her parents were gone from her life. Thinking it in her head when she was alone in bed was one thing, but having to admit it to other people made it difficult. She couldn't escape the truth of the situation there.

Soft footfalls caught her attention, like that of a child padding across the floor. The girl didn't like that sound, didn't like thinking that a little boy who was handling so much already, would turn the corner and notice his Healer breaking to pieces in one of his hallways. She could feel her emotions scattering, her nerves standing on end as the footsteps got closer. Yet the blonde man never stopped what he was doing, and she refused to look up into his eyes.

"What's wrong with Healer Hermione?" came the childlike voice, and she pursed her lips at the sound. It had an innocent undertone, indicating that the small boy wasn't used to witnessing tender moments.

"She has a lot to deal with," Draco responded, saving her the trouble of mustering up an answer. "Do you want to help me take her back to her room?"

There was no response, and she assumed the child had wordlessly responded. The brunette didn't bother trying to argue that she could return all by herself. For once, she wanted someone to take care of her, and it appeared that Draco was very willing to offer that today.

Without really considering what she was doing, the girl leaned forward, finding what seemed to be a comfortable place to rest her head on the blonde's chest. When he didn't shove her back, she assumed it was an okay thing to continue. Only the placement was a bit too perfect, and the sound of his heartbeat a bit too overwhelming. She let out a cry, reaching up to clamp a hand over her mouth before another escaped.

"Got it?" the blonde said, and she wondered what he was talking about, though she didn't bother looking. Half a second later, she found herself up in the blonde's arms unexpectedly, and her arms wrapped quickly around his neck at the unexpected action. "Come on Hermione," he continued as she felt the man beginning to walk, "It's time to rest."

The girl didn't argue. Despite everything she had come to tell herself about the situation, she didn't argue and tell him to put her down. She didn't whine and say she didn't need any help. Harry and Ron would be too uncomfortable by this point to help her, and she decided to not push away true help when it was offered to her. Resting against him, she couldn't help but release a few sobs. They raked through her chest, shaking her entire frame. And he never told her to quiet down.

They reached the door quickly, and Draco said something to his son. She didn't catch what it was, but she did hear the child's hurried _"Goodbye Healer Hermione_" as he sprinted out of the room. She didn't really see him run, but she heard it over the sounds of her cries. The door shut, and she felt herself being set down on something soft and familiar; a bed, though this one seemed different than the one in her room. But she didn't argue.

The girl didn't object either when he crawled into the bed beside her, letting her cry into his chest, her body shaking. He didn't whisper useless words to her, things that meant nothing. He just stroked the minimal spots of bare skin he could find, occasionally brushing the side of her face that he could reach free of tears.

Hermione couldn't be happier. At least he wasn't going to run off in a few minutes. And he sat there as she sobbed, her tears drenching whatever expensive shirt he had on. Yet Draco never complained.

At one point, she felt consciousness slipping away. He was comfortable to rest against, and the continual cries were tiring her body out. Part of her wondered when he would leave her, when he would abandon her to her own horrors. But the man never left.

He was still there playing the part of a pillow, even after her breathing deepened and she slipped into the world of dreams.

* * *

When she awoke, her pillow was gone. Her body felt drained from releasing all the pent up emotion in her body, and she had to struggle to sit up and rub the tiredness from her eyes. Yawning, she wondered how long she had been out.

As she stretched, she surveyed her surroundings. Instantly it became apparent that this was not the guest room she had slept in the past few nights. This room was far more extravagant, and it had human, personal touches that could not be applied simply by someone decorating. There was a closet full of clothes, a broom set against the wall. A desk with far too many papers, and pictures of a father and son, the mother existing in none of them. She knew exactly where she was.

This was Draco's bedroom. Why he brought her there instead of to one of the hundreds of other rooms she didn't know, but obviously it didn't faze him. She lay back down in the sheets, deciding that she wasn't quite ready to move yet. The spot beside her was warm, indicating that Draco had left the bed only recently. She wondered where he had gone.

Noticing that her wand sat on a table beside the bed, she moved over and snatched it up. Conjuring a glass of water, she tipped the contents back and guzzled the beverage down. Immediately, her impending thirst disappeared. Content, she closed her eyes. She wanted a moment of piece before she tried to get up and deal with what her explosion of tears had caused.

A moment turned into three hours, and when she woke up again the blonde was back in his room. He was sitting on a chair beside the bed, silently studying her. To say that it was a strange way to wake up would be an understatement.

"Feeling better?" he asked, watching her closely. She sat up in the bed, once again trying to remove the sleep from her eyes.

"Yes," she lied, looking back at him. He raised an eyebrow, seeming unconvinced by her small voice and sad expression.

"You don't have to lie to me Hermione," he said with a sigh, leaning forward on the chair. "I've obviously seen you unravel, and that's perfectly fine. So you don't need to pretend that things are alright. I know they aren't."

The girl glanced away from him. Maybe that was why she didn't want him to know what was wrong. Now he knew she was emotionally unstable, and those endearing eyes he had now might just become the look she was always presented with.

"I just miss my parents," she said quietly, pulling her legs up to wrap her arm around them. "It's nothing that I really want to discuss."

He sighed, and she knew he was irritated. She kept shutting him out. "If you insist," he grumbled, but she could hear the reluctance in his words. He wanted real answers, ones which she wasn't going to answer. She was afraid.

There was a pause between them, and for a moment she wondered if he would just get up and leave. But he didn't, and the blonde remained at her side, his hand moving to caress her own. It was a tender gesture, one which she could appreciate. He was attempting to be helpful, despite her hostility and reluctance to speak. But she didn't know how to begin putting her problem into words, not when everything was such a jumbled mess.

_Breathe Princess. Life cannot get worse._

Draco noticed when her breathing stiffened, and he positioned himself closer to the woman, studying her facial expressions. For a brief moment she looked strangely angry, though he couldn't fathom why. Then she closed her eyes, and he noted that she shook just once. Resting his head against hers, he wondered what was going through her mind.

He just wanted to help her. She helped him; the least he could do was return the favor. And it wouldn't be bad to have her open up a bit. It was obvious she was still very affected, but he didn't have the heart to yell at her just then and demand to know what was wrong now. She looked to sad.

"What do you think Crabbe is going to say?" she muttered, catching him off guard. He didn't expect the topic change, and he wasn't exactly thrilled about it either. Why she persisted to keep bringing up things like this, he would never understand.

"Does it matter?" he replied, attempting to keep his tone cool. He didn't want to upset the girl further, but this topic in general didn't sit well with him. He couldn't tolerate the idea of being shut out from the truth of how to help his son simply because of something as silly and remedial as Crabbe being an arse. He might just have to kill the dead man if that were the case- if that's even possible. "We'll figure something out to tell him, and then he better have some answers to our questions. But must we talk about this? It's not going to help us right now, and it's certainly not going to help you. Don't worry about so many things at once; they will come together with time."

She bit her lip, glancing down. Obviously he didn't want to discuss something like that, and the reason why should've been obvious to her from the start. But Crabbe came into her mind whenever he could, and the mere mention of him would of course put the blonde on edge. She really didn't know what to discuss with him.

"Why do you bring it up?" he asked, catching her off guard this time. Raising an eyebrow, she looked back at him, wondering if he recalled a discussion they had in the past.

The girl shrugged. "He's bothering me in my mind again. It reminded me of our problem at hand."

Draco grimaced. "I didn't realize he still did that."

"Well, it's not as though he ever stopped." She adjusted herself, moving to sit beside him instead of leaning against him. "He can just be a nuisance sometimes."

"He shouldn't be able to have free-range of your mind," the blonde muttered. "Didn't Saint Potter ever teach you how to block our mind? After having to learn that for the war, one would think he would pass that knowledge along to his friends."

"Is that how you learned?" she asked. He nodded. "Harry doesn't exactly enjoy talking about the war. Like many, he lost a lot while fighting, and he blames himself for a lot of the people who died. I've never asked him to learn the skill, and he's never offered. I honestly never thought I would have a use for it outside the war."

He chuckled. "You would be surprised. I can teach you, you know, to block your mind. My godfather was one of the most powerful Occlumens who ever lived. He helped Potter learn after all, and it certainly wasn't my father who taught me Occlumency and Legilimency. If you'd like, I could always teach you."

To that Hermione glanced at him, finally smiling. "I'd like that I think, especially concerning this situation. I don't appreciate Crabbe popping in whenever he likes just to state an opinion."

She wasn't sure if she had told Draco before that it was Crabbe who taunted her thoughts, but she speculated that he probably assumed that. From the first moment they were introduced to the group in the woods, he stood as a frontal figure, obviously important to the way things went. "We can start whenever you want," he continued, "Just let me know. It can be strenuous to learn though Hermione, so be careful. I don't want you to harm yourself while learning. If you were ever around Potter when he learned the skill, you'll understand why."

Hermione nodded, aware of how tired Harry got after even short sessions with Snape. But the former Potion's Master was no lightweight when it came to work, and he never ceased to push Harry as far as he could. She wasn't sure how Draco would be while teaching her, but she was certain that it wouldn't work too well for her.

Looking at him one last time, she gave him a brief smile. At least now they were getting along again, and not arguing.

* * *

"Why do you always seem so interested in her?" the woman asked, crossing her arms. The shadows created by the sun in the sky left enough space for them to wander comfortably without getting harmed by the sun's rays.

"I have my reasons," Crabbe said, pacing back and forth through a shadowed spot. "I simply don't understand why you're so bothered by it, Sarafene."

"I'm not!" she spat, glaring at him. "I'm merely worried about you. Don't you see the problems arising from simple attachment? You have fascinated yourself for too long with the mortal girl, and it remains an unhealthy obsession. I don't know what you were playing at the other day when you went to speak to her alone, but it doesn't work that way! You endanger us all by choosing to try to tempt her past the barrier. You are no better than the others with your obsession with partnership, but the Malfoy man won't allow her to leave. I know you refuse to see it, but he's protecting her from you." The woman laughed. "You! A person he was once friends to!"

"Be quiet," he spat, leaning against a tree. "You do not know my reasoning."

"I know enough to understand from my listening that you are not getting the answers out of her that you desire. Her mindset is weak, and though she is easily readable there is a section of her mind that we cannot breech. That's the part that fascinates you the most. Like her relationship status."

"She's not married," the man defended, beginning to pace. "She isn't attached to Draco."

"From what you see," Sarafene reminded, shaking a finger at him. "You fascinate yourself too much with the woman. She is off limits to you; a mortal, human woman. You would kill her in the end."

"I have control about myself," he reminded sternly.

"Control, but only to a point. They are fragile creatures, mortals. With breakable bones and thin skin; dull teeth and reflexes that are lacking compared to our own, and you would kill her if you ever attempted to mate her. The others in this group have experienced this loss, and you will know that remorse as well if you let your primal instincts take over. She wouldn't want you the way you want her. And in the end, you would have her blood on your hands."

"I wouldn't kill her!"

Sarafene clicked her tongue. "You're still so young, you will learn what loss is as the years go on. You will come to understand that what I'm saying is a reality. You think that you can survive by loving someone human, but it's not love. You would tear her limb from limb, and only afterwards would you have empathy enough to regret your actions."

He turned away from her. "You don't know me, and you certainly don't know her. Hermione Granger isn't that fragile."

"Maybe not mentally," Sarafene said, stepping closer to him, "But if you ever got a hold of her, she will die."

Vincent stopped listening, turning from the woman. She might have lived this life longer, but he did not believe she knew everything. If he wanted Hermione, then he was going to get Hermione, no matter what anyone said.

She would survive him, and she could learn to love him like he was growing to love her.

* * *

Hermione did her usual exams on Scorpius the following day before leaving father and son alone. Although the child asked if she would stay, the woman declined. She wanted to go look up some more information on the creatures themselves, and see if she could substitute the knowledge that Cho couldn't currently provide.

Wandering out in that direction, the floo roared to life. Surprised, she glanced around quickly, wondering who had decided to arrive. She felt for her wand in her pocket, wondering who would arrive here uninvited. That rarely happened.

From the flames stepped a tall man, his skin pigmented darker than her own and she immediately recognized him as Draco's friend. She just didn't understand why the little girl stood at his side.

"Hello Granger," he said politely, nodding to her. The stubborn child at his side pouted at the sight of her. "You're here often."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Thanks Zabini, but it is my job to come here and work."

"I know," he replied with a smile, right before his daughter cut in.

"Where is Scorpius?" she asked, glaring at the girl. To this, her father nudged the girl, telling her to stop it, but she persisted to interrogate the Healer. "Tell me! I want to see him!"

Hermione grimaced, remembering the last time she crossed paths with Zabini's daughter. "He's with his father."

"I want to see him!"

"Lizzy, enough," Blaise said, telling her to be quiet. "I came to see Draco, and she refused to leave me alone the entire morning when I told her she couldn't come." He shrugged. "I told her she could come, but she might not see Scorpius. Speaking of Draco's son, what does his _Healer _think about my daughter seeing the boy? I don't want her getting hurt."

Instantly, she felt uncomfortable. She was there to make sure that the child was alright on a day-to-day basis, not to determine whether or not he could have guests. She wasn't completely alright admitting someone's child in to see another child- despite them being friends- when one could potentially cut the other to shreds if they weren't careful. Draco knew that he couldn't wrestle his son, he couldn't do certain things and although it hurt him he understood why it had to be done. Lizzy and Scorpius were children though. They wouldn't comprehend the severity of the situation like an adult would.

"I don't know," she admitted, glancing down at the child. She didn't feel necessarily inclined to be exceptionally nice to the kid, but then again, she was a child. "I'm not sure it's safe."

Blaise didn't seem particularly satisfied with the answer. Before he could open his mouth to argue anything though, a door down the hallway opened and she spun around and Hermione turned to see Draco stepping out of the bedroom. She didn't see Lizzy try to run to the man, as Blaise stopped his daughter. But when the blonde saw who was in his house, his eyebrows shot up and he shut the door more firmly before he walked over to them.

"Blaise," the pale man said, nodding his head to the man. His friend nodded in return, and that was when the brunette knew for sure that this wasn't planned. "I see Lizzy's come over today."

"Can I see Scorp?" she asked, cutting off any response the other two adults may have had. Everyone looked to the young girl, only four years old, but very determined to see a friend. The trio exchanged looks, no one quite able to read the other's faces. It was a controversial question, one which none of them had a perfect answer to. There were enough reasons to not allow the young female into a dangerous situation, but no one spoke up against it, not immediately.

"You can't play together," Draco said simply, catching the other two off guard, but Hermione most of all. She never thought he would actually agree to it, not when he was so concerned about keeping both his son and other's safe. "He got hurt, so you have to be careful together."

The girl nodded eagerly, bounding forward to grab the blonde's hand. They walked side by side together, the adult obviously ignoring the other two people in the room. Hermione moved to follow, but Blaise stopped her with a slight grip on her shoulder.

"This is safe?" he asked, watching her closely.

The woman rolled her eyes. "So long as it doesn't give her nightmares Zabini, I think she will be fine." Shoving his hand off her, she followed the disappearing pair, the Italian tight on her heels.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that although you have seen Scorpius- what, once?- that you don't comprehend just how severe the situation is. I personally think you're a fool to let your daughter come here, what with everything that's happening."

"I heard about Cho," he said, changing subjects quickly. She paused just outside the door, turning around slowly. "I heard that something happened to her causing her to spend quite a bit of time over at St. Mungo's."

"And does it concern you?" the brunette asked evenly, making sure that she kept her tone level. She wasn't sure what he was getting at.

"Draco told me that he was going to go speak to Cho," the Italian continued, stepping around her now so that she was back against the wall. "I wonder what happened?"

"We didn't do anything if that's what you're thinking," she said hotly.

The man raised an eyebrow. "We? I didn't know that you were involved in his quest to find and speak to the woman."

"So I'm supposing then that you have no idea what it was about?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I knew Draco would keep secrets from you, but I didn't realize he didn't trust you with the facts."

"What facts?" he asked, leaning forward to press both his arms to the wall, blocking her in. She wasn't intimidated, and swiftly kicked him, ducking beneath his arms and out of his grasp as he was taken aback by the action.

"Oh, nothing Blaise," Hermione said sweetly, walking the rest of the way. The woman was glad to put a bit of distance between them. Something seemed off about the man.

Blaise stared after her, certain that she was hiding something now.

* * *

Adam was gazing outside later that night, overlooking the street below his apartment. He expected a visit shortly, though he hoped that the man arrived before Astoria woke up again. He would hate to have to dent her face.

Things had been going swimmingly since he picked the woman up off the road one day. Of course, she thought that he picked her up originally because he wanted her, but that was a silly idea. Once his person arrived, he would be off to the meeting. Astoria could survive for a while in that lonely apartment, or she could run off, who cares? He had what he needed from her, and now the woman was only a toy, someone he could use when he needed a release. Whatever Astoria thought about the setup, he didn't know, and he didn't care. Her purpose was for filled by now.

A knock on the door told him it was time to go, and swiftly he picked up a coat, even though the biting wind outside wouldn't affect him. Whatever, it was all for show. Opening the door, he nodded to the man outside.

"Ready?" Percy Weasely asked, looking uncomfortable with the situation, as usual. Adam chuckled.

"I have been all night. Let's go." He stepped aside, letting the ginger into his home. He didn't allow the man to floo in, so he had to use a local floo and walk from there. But now they could use his personal one to leave together.

"Do you think they will all be there?" he asked, looking curious now.

"I don't know," Adam replied, picking up a hefty bit of floo powder. The redhead followed suit, and then they were off.

Arriving, they noticed that the meeting room was already fairly full. People lounged around, waiting for the meeting to begin. Adam was just about through the door, when a hand slinked around his waist, brushing far below the belt. Glancing over his shoulder, he grinned at the minx who was clinging to him.

"Sarafene."

"Adam." She stood on her toes, biting at his ear. "I was hoping you would attend."

"I had to," he reminded, pulling her to his side instead of his back. They walked to a seat, ignoring anyone who bothered to gaze on as she sat on his lap, straddling instead of sitting. It wasn't that unusual of a position for them before a meeting. "They always want me present."

"I understand why," she purred, using agile fingers to undo the top buttons on his shirt with a gentle flick. Glancing past her, he smirked at an onlooker. "I want you here too."

"I know," he agreed, laying his fingers through her hair. Ripping her head down, he forced her to kiss him, grinning when she groaned. He didn't protest when her hands drifted down south either.

"Adam, save your additional activities for somewhere else," came a voice as Sarafene was yanked back from him. The person speaking didn't pull her, but nonetheless Adam didn't smile at the intrusion. He released the girl, noting that this man next to them had ripped bits of her hair out. That didn't sit well with him.

She sat back down on him, her legs the same direction as his this time. He reached a hand up, rubbing the sore spots on her head. The blonde relaxed into him at that, and he eyed the man beside them, wondering if he would try something else stupid.

"Now that we are all paying attention, I'd like to call our attention to a severe problem." Adam watched the Minister adjust himself, Percy Weasely at his side the entire time, watching for when the man needed anything. "The Malfoy child is getting better, and I think we all know why the child is improving, why so many of you have not. There's a Healer working at the Manor privately, a woman Adam has personally worked with." A few eyes glanced at him. "Hermione Granger might actually be making headway."

There was a bit of muttering in the collected group. Sarafene glanced at him, wondering what that meant. Adam only shrugged, unsure what it meant. The Minister of Magic wasn't giving them a lot of information so far.

On his lap, Sarafene raised an eyebrow. She wondered if perhaps she needed to pay more attention to the woman fascinating Crabbe.

* * *

**A/n: **Thoughts? Let me know!


	20. The Bite

**A/n: **This chapter has some dark aspects. I quite like it. There's also a twinge of Draco being good, but you'll have to wait and see what that means! And for those of you who like Crabbe and Hermione together, there's a bit of that too. Enjoy! Thanks again to my two excellent betas **JDeppIsMyLovely **and **Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited.

Early update!

* * *

**The Bite**

Hermione sat in Draco's room, toying with the necklace Crabbe had handed to her. She wasn't quite sure why she thought returning there that night was a good idea, but his bed was comforting and she felt safe leaning against the pillows. It was odd, but she wasn't willing to question it just then. The blonde was in the shower for the time being, and they had agreed that they would talk when he got out. The brunette just left the part out about hanging out in his bedroom until then. Hopefully Draco wouldn't throw a fit.

This necklace remained something she couldn't understand. For whatever reason, Crabbe wanted them to show it to Cho. Now Chang was at St. Mungo's, harmed and unable to answer a single question. She didn't know who did it or why, but she had a feeling the answer wasn't something she would like. Cho's attack felt like something she needed to personally look into, simply to say that she attempted to help a friend.

Now Crabbe, she didn't know what to think of him. He would enter her mind on occasion, and even when he wasn't speaking to her sometimes, she felt like he was there, poking around at her personal thoughts. The girl just really wanted to get some proper training from Draco so she could block her mind and stop having the invasive voice haunt her every thought.

_I'm not that bad, am I Princess? _

She bit her lip at that, clutching the necklace tightly. He knew how to appear at the worst of times.

"_Leave me alone if you would. I have no desire to speak to you, Crabbe."_

_But you're thinking about me, aren't you? I thought since I was such a dominate thought on your mind that you might appreciate hearing from me._

"_Fuck off. I'm not trying to speak to you at all. You're just a troublesome thought on my mind. In fact, if you weren't being so bloody stubborn, you wouldn't be on my mind at all."_

_Why am I stubborn, Princess?_

"_You have to ask!? If you didn't send us on this wild chase to go and speak to Chang, I wouldn't be so stressed. She's in the hospital after all, completely unable to speak to anyone at the moment. Our week is up tomorrow, and you still somehow expect us to get answers from her before you explain anything."_

_What happened to her? _Hermione paused, surprised by the sincere surprise in his voice. She didn't want him to be surprised though, she somehow wanted him to know about the situation so that she could yell at him for having something to do with it. If he could be blamed for what happened somehow, then she could hold it over him and get him to just tell them the truth already. She was tired of playing games just to end up with no answers.

_No Princess, unlike your tangled thoughts, I don't know what happened. _

"_She's been hurt. She can't speak. If you expect us to talk to her beforehand, we will be waiting quite a while. Why can't you just tell me the truth already?"_

There was a pause, and for a moment Hermione thought he had decided to conveniently vacate her mind. It would figure that he would only leave when it worked for him.

_Come to the woods edge tonight without your lover, Hermione Granger, and I will indulge you in a few things. _

"_Draco is not my lover."_

_Weren't you just thinking about sitting in his bed, and about how just how comfortable and _safe_ it feels? _

Hermione pursed her lips. _"I'm sitting here, not sleeping here-"_

_But you did spend a night there, just yesterday. You slept together._

"_Look, that's really none of your-"_

Her thought cut off as the door to the bathroom opened, and Draco Malfoy stepped out topless, her eyes getting stuck on all the naked skin she saw. Whatever she had been about to say in her mind to Crabbe disappeared as her mind zipped off elsewhere.

"Are you alright?" he asked, noticing the strange look on her face.

She shook her head quickly, clearing whatever expression she had been wearing. "Fine," she replied, setting the necklace down on the side table, "Just tired, I suppose."

After Lizzy and her father left, Draco spent quite a while sitting with his son, reading stories and laughing together. It was then that Hermione distanced herself, disappearing off to the library for a way to waste time. She very well knew that she could've stayed, that neither Malfoy would mind if she did, but the woman chose not to. She had a tendency to be awkward around children. She had only spoken to Draco briefly since then.

The blonde studied her, as though he was trying to decide whether or not to believe her. With a shrug of his shoulders, he sat down beside her on the bed. "If you say so. Now there was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Initially, she had a different intention of coming to speak with him than the one she was going to announce. But after Crabbe's latest invasion, she had a different idea in mind. "I wanted to start learning Occlumency."

His eyebrows shot up. "Tonight?"

"Yes," she replied, brushing her hair back. "I'd just rather have these bastards out of my mind as soon as possible."

"_Yes, that includes you, Crabbe."_

_Are there more voices in here than just me?_

"_Does it matter?"_

The blonde still looked a bit surprised by her request, but quickly got over it. "Um, I suppose. You do realize it's a bit strenuous on the body and the mind?"

Hermione smiled. "It doesn't matter; we're just going to go to bed after this. I just want to learn as quickly as possible. I'm tired of having my mind invaded."

"Of course," he replied, though he looked a little troubled by her comment. "When would you like to start?"

"Right now," she replied evenly, her eyes flickering to his chest for a moment. She partially hoped he wouldn't get dressed from there.

"If you say so," came the reply as he got up, wandering to the dresser. She frowned a bit at that. "Let me just finish getting dressed and we'll get started."

She settled back against the covers, deciding there was no way to pester him to keep his shirt off without some snarky comments about keeping hers off as well. Yes, that sounded like a very Malfoy-type thing to do.

_Remember Princess, if you want answers, come visit me tonight._

* * *

Hermione awoke feeling damp, struggling to sit up. Mentally, she felt strained, and physically she felt tired and wet. Glancing down at herself, she noted that her skin was damp. Sitting up, she surveyed her surroundings.

As she expected, this was Draco's room. She must've fallen asleep sometime during the lesson, for she remembered him advising that she might pass out. Although the woman had no idea how long she had been asleep, she knew it had to have been a while, for the blonde was asleep next to her, once again shirtless. Blinking sleep from her eyes, she struggled to stand up off the bed in the candlelight, careful to not wake the blonde.

Going to see Crabbe outside at night was probably terribly foolish, but she couldn't help herself. There was no way that she would walk past the protective barrier, but that didn't mean that she couldn't go speak to him from her side of it. She didn't trust that man near her, not after the few experiences out in the woods, but if he was willing to indulge some information she would take the risk of venturing outside alone.

The girl paused at the door, glancing back at Draco. The last time he found Crabbe speaking to her, he had an absolute fit. What would he do if he discovered that they were outside talking again?

_Maybe I should tell him…_

Despite everything, she shoved the idea from her mind. She had a feeling that this was an "invitation only" type of meeting, and that Vincent wouldn't be too open to speaking to her if a third party tagged along. If Draco wanted information on how to help his son properly, she got the feeling that she had to do this alone.

_Hopefully he won't lose it too much._

Sneaking out of the room, she was careful to shut the door quietly, and then tiptoe down the hall. Scorpius was after all in a room in that same corridor, and she honestly had no idea if he had heightened hearing from his experience or not. But best not to test it just then.

Getting outside was simple enough- she had run outside of the Manor enough times to know the way by heart. It was bitter cold out, and she wished she had worn more than her skimpy top and the loose fitting jeans. Oh well, she was out there now.

Rubbing her arms for warmth, she crawled forward towards the barrier, mindful that she was now a bit concerned. Maybe there was a distinct reason why Draco was not invited, and she just hadn't speculated over that since re-awakening.

"Hello, Princess."

She jumped at the sound, reaching into her pocket to grab her wand, spinning towards the sound. The girl felt her heart stop a moment later, fear gripping at her throat. Her weapon was still upstairs.

"Don't look so terrified," Crabbe mused, giving her a wide grin. "It's just me."

Put off that she no longer had something to defend herself with in case a situation arose, she shoved her hands behind her back, fiddling with one of her belt loops.

"What is it you want to tell me?"

He clicked his tongue. "Ah, Hermione, always straight to the point. You never have any time to just sit back and talk like a civilized person." He stepped forward lazily, the barrier stopping him from advancing. "Whatever happened to cordial welcomes?"

"I didn't know that I was entitled to give you one," she bit out icily, attempting to keep her teeth from chattering. Merlin, it was one frigid night.

Crabbe shrugged. "It would be polite if you did."

"I'm not here to be polite," she snapped, "I'm here to get some answers. Why else would I come out here?"

Crabbe laughed then, shaking his head. "Oh Hermione, have you already forgotten our deal?"

"We never really had one," she muttered.

"I believe I specifically said that I would indulge you in information if you came to the edge of the forest. This is only to the barrier, and the forest begins over there." He pointed with his finger, off in the distance towards the leering woods, a place she refused to go.

"I don't think so," she replied hotly. "I'm not that stupid, Crabbe. I very well remember my few visits out there, and I definitely prefer to keep myself alive. I'm willing to talk to you- I didn't even bring Draco, as requested- but I won't step past the barrier. I don't trust you that much."

Crabbe frowned. "Why don't you trust me? You have no reason not to."

"And I have no reason to either." The woman crossed her arms, turning her nose up. "If this is some absurd way of getting me to come out here and speak to you, then I'm going back inside right now. I don't need this."

"But you do need answers," he provided, watching her expression for the slightest change. "You need to strike a deal with me now that Cho Chang is unavailable."

The woman looked back and glared at him. "Yes, I do. I made a promise to Draco to help him with his son, and it's something I will be keeping. Now, what can I do? I need to know what I can do to get you to talk."

Vincent smirked, mirroring the age old expression Draco always had- it was a bit unsettling to see, actually, and she could feel her skin crawling. "There's many things you could do for me, Princess."

"Are any of those things something I will actually do?" she asked, looking skeptical.

He shrugged. "We will see. Ask me a question, and in return I will demand something of you."

"I'm not crossing the barrier," she said flatly, rubbing her arms for warmth.

"Not unless you chose to do so, darling."

"Don't call me that. I won't touch you either." To this, he only shrugged.

"As you say," he agreed, but again she felt her skin crawl. There was a dark tint in his eyes, something that she wasn't used to seeing. It was unsettling to say the least. "Ask me anything."

Immediately, Hermione wished more than ever that she had her wand back- or better, that she had ignored Crabbe's demand that she come alone and wished she had brought Draco along. Something didn't seem right about her former schoolmate, and it didn't comfort her to consider that no one knew where she was.

Weighing her options, she considered her first question. She doubted he would tell her anything important immediately, and decided to start slow, testing to see what would happen with everything she asked.

"How long have you lived in these woods?"

He shrugged, seeming bored by her question. "Since I re-awoke and I was brought here. It's been a few years." She nodded once, signaling that she was done, and he nodded in return. "Take a step closer."

Deciding that there was no harm in that since she was still protected, the woman walked forward a bit. "Who are the other men in your group?"

Crabbe's jaw seemed to twitch at the question, and she wondered why exactly that was. "They are nothing important really, and so long as you don't cross the border you won't cross paths with them again. They're just like me, only, they have been this way a whole lot longer. Take another step."

Hermione moved. "Why don't they speak to me in my head?"

"We've been over this before, Princess. They don't have as strong of a connection to your mind, and they simply can't read minds as well. Therefore I do all the communicating to you on their behalf."

"Doesn't seem like they really want to talk to me anyway," she muttered.

"Take another step forward, Hermione Granger," he replied, nodding his head. Sighing, she took a step, finding herself pressed against the barrier now.

"I'm not taking another step. I told you I refuse to walk past the barrier."

"No need to fret; I'm not going to ask you to move again."

Hermione shrugged. "Why do you dislike Draco so much? Whenever I bring him up, you tense. There's no real reason for that, not when you two were once friends."

"Who, Draco? We weren't exactly friends. I was a _bodyguard_, someone he could order around. Goyle was the same; we never got to the friend stage with him. That's just how Draco is."

The girl thought that was strange, considering how long the trio stuck together. She was about to voice her opinion when he clicked his tongue, cutting any thoughts she may have had off.

"I still have something to request from you, Princess. Now stop staring out into the darkness and look up into my eyes."

She rolled her brown orbs, wondering what kind of game he was playing. Nonetheless, she glanced up, knowing that there was nothing threatening about looking into someone's eyes.

Almost instantly, she knew she was wrong. His eyes had that dark gleam about them, the one that she didn't recognize before. Now looking up at him, she found herself unable to look away from his eyes. As she attempted to move her body, he barked out an order.

"Stay, I'm not finished with you quite yet Hermione. It's taken quite a while to get you to listen correctly, but now that I have you I don't intend on letting you go."

The girl tried to retaliate with a snide comment, but found that she couldn't speak. Realizing the seriousness of her situation, she inwardly cursed. This was a foolish task indeed. And Draco didn't even know what she was up to.

"Now step forward Princess, out and way from the barrier. Step through."

Unable to control her body now, she did as she was told. It was like being under the Imperio spell, only worse. She was fully conscious of what she was doing, and it was quite alarming. Once past the barrier, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, those long talons digging into the flesh at her waist painfully.

"See? It's not so bad to be out past the barrier," he mused, scratching at her back with a nail. It was sharper than that of a human, and immediately she could feel her skin separating, letting a sliver of blood leak out. She cringed.

"My, how easy it would be to suck you dry," Crabbe continued, pulling her flush against him. "Mudblood or not, a specimen like you must have _delicious _blood."

Hermione attempted to move, to kick him or something, but she was rooted in place. Never in her life had she felt so unsure about something.

"But I don't want to kill you Princess," he mused, now using the palm of his hand to massage the flesh he had just cut open. "I would never do that. And you have to trust me. I know you don't yet daring, but it will come with time. Shh now, this won't hurt a bit."

Her eyebrows shot up at that, and she attempted to move in his grip. Anything to stop what she thought was coming. Yet she was helpless to escape when his teeth came down, biting into the horribly sensitive side of her neck.

It didn't quite feel like he was drawing blood out through those sharp fangs, but Merlin help her, it _hurt. _

_Relax Princess, it'll all be over in just a minute._

* * *

Astoria lay on the bed, naked, her eyes staring emotionlessly at the ceiling. She felt drained, used, and neglected. When had she last seen Adam? When did he pay her a bit of attention anymore?

That's why her mind was finally set in stone. She was going to leave, right at noon. Her things were packed, and she knew she had to get out. She would go stay with Pansy and Blaise again if she had to, or even with her sister and brother-in-law if she needed to, but she couldn't stay there. Not anymore.

The vision that Adam set up for her about what life would be like was faulty at best. He didn't love her; he barely paid her a bit of attention. He used her in the beginning, making her feel good about herself whenever he fucked her, putting a faulty state of mind into her brain that this was love. No, it was nothing like love actually. He was gruff, rude, and difficult to handle. He wanted something out of her, she knew it, but she didn't know what. She just didn't want to know.

That's why she was leaving. He didn't love her, and her marriage to Draco was strained at best. She had fucked up a lot of things in her life, but this was one of the worst. It was hard to believe how much she had ruined for herself.

And Merlin, she neglected her son! Sure, when Adam was still showering her with affection it seemed alright, but deep down she knew it wasn't. Scorpius was suffering, and she was a shitty parent for not even visiting. She would be surprised if her son didn't hate her the next time she saw him. It's not like she didn't deserve it.

Glancing at the clock, she realized it was ten 'til. It was time to get up, and face the world again. Adam wasn't supposed to return until later, and she hoped that much was true. Slipping on a tight dress, she fixed her hair and shrank her items. It was time to go.

Wandering up to the floo, she jumped about a foot in the air. Her items had been packed since late last night when Adam went out for whatever his meeting was, and she had yet to leave the bedroom that morning. But now she realized he had tricked her, for the man was sitting in a chair right by the fireplace.

"Going somewhere darling?" he asked dryly, getting up. She took two steps back from his approaching figure, looking unsure about what she should do. "Pity, and to think I thought I could trust you."

"I'm leaving," she spat, looking away from him. "I can't stand staying here anymore. It's not as if you'll miss me! We rarely speak as it is."

He clicked his tongue, reaching out to grab her chin tightly, forcing her to look up at him. "Don't be like that now, you know I have other obligations Astoria. I'm a busy man, and sometimes I'm required elsewhere."

"But not in other women," she spat bitterly. Perhaps this was how Draco felt throughout the extent of their marriage.

Adam's expression tightened a bit. "What, that? Those women are just some activities Astoria, they don't mean anything." She bent forward a bit so she was looking into his eyes. There was a dark gleam in them. "Understood?"

She could feel his influence soaking into her, and she dropped her guards, nodding once. "Yes."

"Good," he replied, smiling as he shoved her back onto the couch. "Just what I wanted to hear. Now Astoria, there's something else you could help me with darling." He snatched up her hand, placing it across the bulge in his trousers. "Think you can help me?"

She nodded, and he grinned as nimble fingers found the zipper. It was almost too easily for his kind to manipulate people, and he would be lying if he said he didn't like it.

* * *

When Draco awoke the following morning, he was unsurprised to find his bed empty. Hermione only sometimes stayed around in the morning, and for some reason he had doubted that she would stay there. Stretching, he headed to take a however, not even considering that she might be in trouble. Why would she be?

Once finished, the blonde left his hair to air dry for a bit before heading out of the room. He stopped by his son's bedroom first, expecting to find the girl there running her tests since it was nearly nine. Opening the door however, he frowned when he realized that she wasn't in there, and his son was still fast asleep. Something didn't see right about that.

_Where are you Hermione?_

Turning on his heel, he checked several other places, from the sitting room she always apparatted into some of the guest rooms in the hall her original room was in. Nothing.

A frown creased his face, and slowly worry began to set in. He hadn't been afraid, not really, not until that moment when he couldn't find her. Beginning to get tense, he checked the rest of the places a bit closer. Hurrying along, he spared a brief glance out one of the windows and stopped cold, his face draining of color.

_Stupid, stupid girl._

Dashing away, he quickly found himself hurrying along the corridor that led outside, the man swearing beneath his breath as he went. Outside it was bitter cold, and he wondered if she had frozen to death. Stopping at her side, he immediately checked for a heartbeat, pulling out his wand to run a check on her. She wasn't in stellar condition, but he could at least tell that she was alive. At least the terrible cold didn't seem to have been present all night, though he swore again when he took into account the slim amount of fabric she was wearing, especially over her arms.

"What the fuck were you thinking Hermione?" he spat, speaking out loud now. It was apparent that she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, and he decided to simply give up the notion for a bit. Picking her up as he continued to mutter, the man glanced over his shoulder. He had a pretty damn good feeling who was behind this, even if he couldn't believe she was dumb enough to step past the wards. This had to be Crabbe's fault.

Unbeknownst to the blonde, that very man watched him from just inside the trees. It was obvious that Malfoy was concerned, and he hurried along to get the girl inside. From his place in the trees, Crabbe seethed. The last thing he wanted was for the annoying blonde to take her away when she was _so_ close.

Oh well, he would just have to call upon her again. Once she was nice and warm and replenished with food, he would beckon her to his side again. He didn't bite her for nothing.

* * *

Hours passed before Draco even heard her stir. He had placed her back in his bed, thrusting her beneath several blankets before applying a heating charm to slowly warm her body up. The man was no Healer, but he wasn't completely batty. He checked to see if she was injured aside from the nearly frostbitten areas, and what he found made his skin crawl.

There was a distinct bite mark on her neck, originally hidden beneath her hair outside. Brushing her hair away from the spot, he studied the mark before applying pressure to his own. Hers was deep and a bit of blood had leaked out, whereas his wasn't anything more than a light penetration and by that point in time the mark was nearly gone. Why were the bites so predominantly different?

Malfoy spent the better part of the morning speaking with his son while the Healer rested. He wasn't about to try and check his son with the usual series of spells Hermione used, considering that he didn't even know them, and decided since his son looked well that one day without the work wouldn't be dire. It wasn't like he was exactly being treated. No, they had to wait for Crabbe's stubborn arse to tell them what they needed, and before that he was requiring that they speak to Cho Chang.

He liked Crabbe less and less as the days went on.

It was just past four in the afternoon when she stirred. Draco had taken it upon himself to watch her that day, sitting for the most part in a chair up against one wall, reading whatever rubbish he had in his room. The moment she groaned, his head shot up, instantly alert. Setting the book aside, he raised an eyebrow and marched over to her, sitting down on his side of the bed, the side she was conveniently facing.

Hermione didn't look too well as she opened her eyes. They were bloodshot, twinged in pain. His eyebrows rose up as she became fully conscious, her body beginning to shake. She whimpered in pain, her face disappearing against the pillow behind her head. Draco tensed, unsure what exactly to do in a situation like that.

"Hermione," he said tensely, keeping his tone soft. He originally planned to scream at her for whatever it was that she had done, but seeing her like that, he decided otherwise. "What's wrong?" He already had his wand in hand, prepared to help her in whatever way she could.

The girl continued to shake, that little whimpering noise still escaping from her throat. He cursed his luck that it was her who suffered from the bite, not him, for she would've at least have had a better idea as to how to handle the situation. Draco however, was thoroughly stumped.

Disappearing off the bed for a moment, he walked to his cabinet and opened the piece, pulling a few potions out from the inside. Hoping this would somehow work, he rushed back to the bed, pulling the whimpering girls upper body against him.

"Don't fight me Granger," he muttered, using his wand to uncork all three vials that now sat on his bedside table. Snatching one up, he forced her to open her mouth, shoving the top into the cavern created. "Drink Granger; please don't fight me."

Despite everything, she did struggle to keep the potion out of her. He couldn't fathom why she was so against things, for she knew she could trust him by that point, right? But he didn't let her wiggle out of the situation, even resorting to a locking spell that would keep her mouth shut and nose plugged until she swallowed. Hopefully, she wasn't too stubborn today.

He waited several moments after forcing her to drink the potion, putting space between them on the off chance that she tried to kill him. The girl sputtered after swallowing, lacking air after being forced to hold her breath until the potion was down her throat. He watched her continue to shake another few seconds before the whimpering subsided, and her body lay still.

Gently, he poked at her with his wand. It wasn't exactly the most caring gesture, but he wasn't entirely sure what else to do if that didn't work. Thankfully, she opened her eyes a moment later, blinking up at him.

"You're going to feel rather sluggish for the next few hours," he said, grimacing. "I didn't think a calming drought would work if you were shaking like that. I'm not sure what's going on here. I do have some Pepper-Up Potion if you prove to be acting more like yourself."

For several moments there was no response, and he wondered if she was going to respond at all. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair just as the girl spoke.

"Thanks for not screaming at me," she said, her voice slurred. He wasn't sure if that was an effect of the potion, or of whatever happened to her. No matter though, Draco was just pleased to know that she could still talk, and more so, would still speak to him.

He shook his head at that, his amusement towards her comment washing off as quickly as it came. In its place he wore a hardened expression, almost glaring at her now.

"Hermione, what the fuck happened?"

* * *

**A/n: **Cliffe, I know! Let me hear what you think lovelies :) Next chapter, we're going to hear a bit more from Cho! And for those of you who are confused by the last chapter and the part about the Minister, don't worry, that will make sense in due time!

I posted early, so send those reviews in! I'll try to have the next chapter up in a few days depending on time, but we'll see! Let me know what you thought :)


	21. The Secret

**A/n:** Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and** Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited.

**Important: **Hey, if you guys don't like my story or what I decide to do with it, then that's fine, but don't leave hateful comments. Constructive criticism is appreciated yes, but flat out telling me my writing is shit doesn't make me want to read anymore from you. And frankly, I'm just not going to keep the review if its that hateful. I'll just delete it and move on in life. I appreciate all the feedback, but don't be a bitch about it. After all, you wouldn't appreciate it if I did that to you.

* * *

**The Secret**

For several moments after his question, the woman only stared at him, seemingly perplexed about what he was inquiring to. Irritation poked at his mind, and the blonde fought against the urge to scream at her again. He at least wanted to know what was going on in that crazy mind of hers before he chewed her out for being very irrational and dangerous. Didn't she realize by now that walking past that barrier could mean her death? Regrettably, the blonde had hoped that the experience of being choked out there by an unknown being would be enough to keep her behind the protective wall. Obviously, he was underestimating her courage.

Stupid, fucking Gryffindors. Why were they always so headstrong and ready to jump into danger? At least Slytherins could be sly about things…

"I don't know," the woman said slowly, remaining in the same position on the bed. Finally she blinked, and with that blink he could see her eyes welling in tears. Thrown, he frowned at the sudden mood swing. "I don't remember."

"Do you think something bad happened?" he asked tentively, afraid that she might spit something out that he didn't want to hear. Sure, she was dressed now, but that didn't mean that nothing happened earlier when he was asleep…

Draco forced himself to stop thinking that way. His mind was traveling in the wrong direction.

Smothering his fears, she reached up and gently touched the skin on her neck, wincing at the pain. "Do you know where my wand is?" she asked, her voice still a bit slurred. He didn't particularly like that, and was just a bit concerned about handing her a wand. Then again, he didn't really want to use anymore magic on her. Merlin knew what she would do if he messed up, even once.

Handing her the slim piece of wood that she left in the bedroom hours before, he noted how the item shook in her grip. Wordlessly, he watched, noticing that her focus was on the bite he found a while ago. She cringed again the moment the wood brushed the cut.

"It's tender," she remarked, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"Did you expect something else?" he asked the edge returning to his tone. He still wasn't exactly happy with her disappearance, much less her run off into the backyard. But he wasn't going to start snarling at her, not until she had the wound closed properly and he knew there was nothing to worry about.

"I just thought I was out longer," she muttered, her eyes taking on a far-off look. "Help me to the bathroom, will you? I want to see if for myself."

Draco huffed, shaking his head at the woman even as she extended an arm. "As if, Granger. Give me a moment, and I'll bring you something to look through, but there's no way I'm going to _move_ you."

If she was upset about him ignoring her, he didn't hear any retaliation as he wandered to the loo, picking up a hand mirror that had once been his ex-wife's. He would just discard it someplace after Hermione was finished. Returning to the room, he noted that her bloodshot eyes were closed again, and he restrained himself from poking her with anything. She was a bloody irritation of course, but he wondered if she was feeling anything other than the pain in her neck. He did jab her with his wand sometime earlier, right?

Gently grabbing her shoulder, she practically lurched off the bed. Frowning at her reaction, he waited until the woman's eyes were open and she seemed stable before he handed over the mirror. Hermione looked away from him then, studying the mark in her reflection.

"Did you try to stop the bleeding at all?" she asked.

"A while ago," he defended, feeling like she was insinuating that he really didn't want to help her out at all. "It's dried blood now, and though I haven't closed the wound it really hasn't bled anymore. But I knew you would probably have a fit if I healed you before you even got a chance to study the bite."

The girl nodded absentmindedly, wondering why he was so thoughtful. Using her wand, she cleared away the bit of dried blood. "It's deeper than yours, I see."

"But is it deeper than my son's?" he asked, and she paused. Immediately, it was apparent why he was so very curious.

"Yes," she replied, glancing at the blood. He looked conflicted as to how to answer that. "Though that doesn't make sense I suppose; it appears deeper, but I'm not uncontrollably trying to kill you. Actually, I don't feel any different at all."

Immediately, the blonde's expression soured. "So what's different with my son?"

Sighing, Hermione turned her head to fully look at him. "I'm not sure."

"Well, that's just peachy!" He stood from the bed, turning to pop his knuckles. If she had a reaction, he again didn't hear one. "Go to sleep."

"Excuse me? I don't believe you can dictate what I do," she snapped, crossing her arms on the bed. He barely glanced at her as he turned and headed for the door.

"Fine, don't sleep then- but just don't get up! If you pass out someplace and my son finds you, nightmares will ensue. I'll be back soon, just sit there and let your body recoup."

"And where are you going?" she asked, attempting to sit up. Only then did she notice how weak her body was. It might be a good idea to eat some food and maybe even rest, but she did not want to. The girl wanted to know what Malfoy was up to, but her body was warning her against the idea.

"On a little mission," he replied airily. The blonde made sure he was out of the room when the comment slipped from his mouth, knowing that she would be instantly curious. He just hoped she would listen to her body instead of her curious mind and give herself a rest. After the violent shaking episode and the slurred words he might actually think she was an epileptic if he didn't know any better. But he did, and though his knowledge on what epilepsy actually was happened to be limited, he classified it as anything involving lots of shakes. Maybe her body would be in a calmer state when he returned.

Slipping through the halls, he checked on Scorpius. The child was up now, playing with some of the things in his room. Not that Draco regretted seeing his son moving one bit, but it may have been easier to slip away if his son wasn't actually awake.

"Is Healer Hermione better?" the boy asked, rushing up to his father. Those unforgiving talons were a bit more controlled now that the child had some experience with the "extended knives" on his hands as he liked to call them, and knew he had to behave and be careful if he intended on ever having Lizzy over again.

Draco smiled slightly at that, glad to see that his son cared about the woman. He cared about her too and though his son had only heard about her being hurt, he did seem upset by the fact. Draco got the feeling that his son quite liked his Healer, actually. The boy seemed closer to this woman than even his own mother, and that was a stretch considering that Hermione always seemed a bit awkward around him. Sometimes, the blonde didn't understand his son's reasoning.

"She's getting better," he replied, messing up his son's hair. Draco never wore his hair slicked back that young either. "I'm going to go and check on something that may have hurt her, so will you make sure to have one of the elves bring her something to eat? You can have whatever you want this morning."

The blonde was a bit surprised when his son's face didn't brighten, for he expected the boy to be eccentric at his words. Usually the child couldn't eat too many sweets, even when he ended up turning into something unnatural. Draco had always been a bit strict about how many sweets a four year old could eat, and when he announced that he didn't care if the boy indulged he was surprised to find Scorpius' face stoic.

"I want to help," the boy pouted, stomping his foot against the ground. Draco raised an eyebrow at that, thinking his son was sleep deprived.

"It won't take long," he promised the child, hardening the tone. This was the tone of don't-even-try-to-follow-me-or-you're-grounded that he often used whenever the child was persistent about embarking on something dangerous. Scorpius was four for Merlin's sake! The last thing Draco intended to do was take his son to confront a bunch of vampires. "Why don't you go talk to Healer Hermione? She's off in my room."

Elated by the prospect of having someone to talk to, the child bounded away in that direction. His father watched the boy go, wonderment still coursing through his body. Why, why did his son have to change the way he did, yet Granger seemed to have almost no side effects to the bite in her throat? He didn't understand.

Wandering along down the corridors towards his destination, he wondered if he was barmy. Crabbe was cold to him at best since he re-found his old friend, and without the presence of Hermione he wondered if the man would appear at all.

But perhaps that was the beauty of it all. Maybe he would go down there and have a bit of silence before he had to handle anything difficult. Reaching the door to his backyard, he shoved the piece open, slipping out into the bitter weather. He cringed, wishing for once that he lived somewhere warmer. Muttering a warming spell, he studied his surroundings.

Yes, this probably was a ludicrous idea. Why exactly would Crabbe- or anyone else for that matter- come and speak to him? He wasn't the apparent target, but everyone around him had become one. Wandering briskly by the barrier, he groaned.

_You're letting your mind get ahead of you. If they wanted something to do with you, they would haunt you, just like Crabbe haunts her. _

Placing a finger to his lips, a thought crossed his mind. Crabbe haunted Granger, so maybe they haunted others, others that crossed their paths once upon a time. Turning quickly, he rushed back into his home, not caring a bit that he was being watched. He was familiar with the feeling by now.

From the trees, Crabbe exchanged a look with one of the other males in the group. "What do you think he's up to?"

* * *

Draco knew he was getting strange looks as he passed through the halls, but just then he didn't care. So long as people didn't stand in his way, he wasn't about to let an ounce of emotion pass over his face. Only, he wished Hermione had come after all.

Maybe the Healers at St. Mungo's wouldn't glare at him quite so much if he just had one of their own with him. However, something told him that she wasn't going to appear anytime soon, and he would just have to handle the situation on his own.

That would be easy enough… right?

"Sir, I can't let you through there." He was stopped rather suddenly, his train of thought cut off due to a petite blonde woman stepping out in front of him as he walked, crossing her arms over her Healer robes.

"I've only come to see an old friend," he replied, looking into her eyes. A smile might be more affective in this situation, but he couldn't muster one. The expression simply wouldn't stick on his face. "I only plan to be here a few minutes."

The woman's expression darkened and she shifted further over to block the door to the extensive ward, the place he was certain the woman was. Where else would they place her? "Family only in this section, Mr. Malfoy. And I'm pretty sure we would know if someone from your family was present."

"Of course," he drawled, waving one of his hands for dramatic affect. The other unnoticed hand slipped into his pocket, fingering the wand lightly there. "It will only be for a moment though."

"Look, Mr. Malfoy I really cannot-" Her sentence cut off as he gave his wand the gentlest of flicks, making sure to put power behind the gentle move. His spell hit the nurse dead on, and he was thankful that this spell was one of the few that didn't require a colorful mist.

For several moments she stood there blinking, as though trying to get her wits about her. Draco cleared his throat at that, unwilling to wait for her to reorganize everything in her mind after the spell. "You were saying?"

The woman looked up at him, her iris' void of emotion. "Oh yes, yes I believe I was escorting you in. Go on then Mr. Malfoy," she said, pushing the door open. He brushed past her, giving himself a bit of distance once through before smirking. His father did teach him a few helpful things while they were entangled in a war, though he rarely used the majority of those spells anymore. Illegal magic and all.

At least he was through, and that was the whole point of his visit. Now the only problem left was actually locating Chang. And a lot of people were giving him quick glances and odd looks as he passed. It was so hard to go anywhere and not be noticed, so he attempted to ignore the attention as he wandered around.

At last, he located a room with her name plastered across the door in little magical letters. There were still a lot of Healers and nurses frequenting the vicinity, and he had to wait several minutes before there was a brief gap in the attention given to him to slip inside. Thankfully, he found that no one else aside from the girl in question was currently in the room. Brilliant.

Chang was unconscious as expected. The beating her body took from a few days ago was apparent, and he wrinkled his nose at the gashes in her skin. Why hadn't the Healers dealt with those properly? Maybe that was the reason why she had yet to regain consciousness. He knew that she hadn't awoken since they found her; Hermione requested that St. Mungo's put her on special alert on the off chance that she woke up. If Chang had stirred at all during the last days, the both of them would've known.

Grabbing one of the two small, cheap chairs in the room, he took up residence directly at her right side. Frequent spells floated above her, their origin something unknown and mysterious to him. If Hermione was there, he was certain she would be able to explain everything in detail, but just then wasn't the time to ponder such things.

More than anything, he hoped his plan was going to work. Otherwise this long trip to the healing facility would be for nothing. And if that ended up being the end result, he was going to be more than a bit irritated.

But he had a gut feeling that he was right, and he needed to follow through. Reaching a hand up to drag one of Chang's eyes open, he reminded himself of that. If his ridiculous theory was correct, then his efforts would be worth it.

Using eyes as the windows to the mind was always the easiest way to conduct this. He knew that someone powerful enough could do it without the need to look into someone's pupils, but he wasn't sure he fell into that category, and considering he was somewhere he shouldn't be, he wasn't willing to take the risk.

Mustering up some energy, he put force behind his stare and dove in, slipping into Chang's unguarded mind with ease. She wasn't even conscious to try and throw up some defenses, and it was almost pathetic how easily he entered her thoughts.

Knowing that he didn't have a lot of time to just dally around, he shifted through her memories. Childhood, school, crushes, kissing Potter- yuck!- and the buildup to the war. Nothing pertaining to what he needed, and he moved over those topics easily enough. When the Room of Requirement echoed in her thoughts after the war, he halted everything, zoning in on his purpose for going there.

If Chang couldn't vocally answer his questions and Crabbe refused, then he would find another way to help his son. And now, maybe he could help Hermione too.

Finding the certain event he wanted, he dove in further, peering through her memories in great detail now.

_It was dark, dank, and not at all what she wanted. So many of them returned to the school to finish off their schooling now that the world wasn't in utter turmoil. He remembered a time like that, and screwed up his face. Draco hadn't exactly enjoyed returning to school after the war. He had a lot of things to make up for in his life at that point. _

_Shifting ahead in time, Draco watched the memory Cho wander into the Room of Requirement; the door black, something he had never seen before. Passing through the wall to continue after her, he got the feeling that for the first time this place had a sense of foreboding about it._

_The room had closed tightly during the war, right after his fight with the Golden Trio here. Cho might just be the first person to enter since then. As he pondered he thought and glanced around the lacking space, he heard a scream and turned around peering through the unprecedented darkness in search of her. _

_Chang stood beside a body, and he did recognize it immediately. His brow wrinkled, having expected something charred and black, the body having been left since the war. But looking down at the body, he was surprised to find it only signed, the hair a bit shorter and the skin lacking a bit of moisture. His breath caught._

_In this memory, it almost appeared as though Crabbe hadn't burned at all. _

_The girl shrieked again, horrified at her discovery. Since Draco was digging through her mind, he could read her memories and saw that she knew she needed to go and do something, find someone and explain. He wondered if she even recognized who this was; he hadn't been one to pick on the girl aside from that necklace incident he threw at her. Chang had never been someone he attempted to constantly torment. _

_The scene shifted, and next he was in the Headmistress's office, watching Chang's mouth move a mile a minute as she described what she saw. McGonagall listened intently, all alone in her office. Draco didn't bother much with this part of things, knowing that she would only continue to work herself into a panic until something was done. _

_Again things changed, and next he was back in the room again, watching as a set of Aurors placed a sheet over the body before attempting to move it out. Funny, he didn't recall seeing Aurors arrive at school when he returned. It must've been done in the night. Chang stood off to the side, appearing calmer but Draco could tell that she was still surprised. _

"_How do you think he died?" one of them asked, glancing briefly at Chang._

"_I'm not sure," another said, glancing around. "The Healers will figure that part out. I mean hell, the body is almost perfectly preserved. Despite the lack of a heartbeat, I would think this fellow was still alive."_

_The first man nodded, before beckoning to Chang. "Come along Miss, we'll get this over with as soon as possible."_

_Draco thought that was a strange comment as the scene again shifted, and now he stood in a questioning room, one of the men from before talking to Cho. In the light now he could tell that she was haggard, her complexion lacking color. _

"_You just found him there?" the man asked, persisting towards something. "Did you check for a pulse? Anything?"_

_The girl shook her head. "I could tell he wasn't breathing," she said in a small voice. "I knew something was wrong; I knew he was dead."_

"_How?"_

_Draco could sense her turmoil, sense that she was flustered. But he very well knew that she wasn't the one who killed Crabbe, considering that he was around when the oaf died. Yet he couldn't help wondering why she appeared so uptight about her answers. Even reading through the folds of her mind, he didn't understand her behavior. _

"_All you had to do was look!" Cho stood, pacing the room. "I… I didn't kill him!"_

"_I wasn't suggesting that you did," the man replied calmly. "But I do have to question occurrences such as this." Chang nodded, still on edge. The man beckoned for her to take a seat, and she did- slowly, as though trying to decide if he was going to hammer her with questions again. Obviously, Cho was uncomfortable. _

"_I have to ask you these questions because despite the hardships the Room of Requirement can throw at those seeking it out, never in my time as an Auror has a student been killed. More so, it's apparent that this boy has been dead for some time. He's been listed as missing since the war."_

"_I just supposed he had been killed," she said quietly._

"_And he was," the Auror agreed. "We just haven't discovered how. It's quite possible that during the Battle at Hogwarts that Mr. Crabbe sought the room out for a hiding place, and someone chased him in and ended his life. It could be as simple as that."_

_Cho nodded, and Draco pushed forward a bit towards something more interesting. He didn't care all that much if Chang was mentally sane or not- he had his doubts about that topic- and he didn't stop surfing through memories until he found her standing beside a body covered by a sheet. Here, Draco found something interesting. _

_The woman stood wringing her hands, glancing around as though she wished she could be anywhere else. Draco noted these actions; though he could also tell from her memories that Cho had chosen to be in this place. _

"_I had to come see," she said quietly, speaking to no one in particular. No one was in the room, and it appeared as though she was speaking to the body beneath the sheet. "I… I have to know." It sounded as though she was coaxing herself to lift the sheet. _

_Several moments passed before anything happened, and then suddenly she threw the sheet back, revealing the stone face of Draco's old goon. The man lay still on the metal slab, the body's upper half naked. Draco cringed, recalling that he never associated with Crabbe or Goyle when they weren't fully dressed for specific reasons._

_Chang seemed to be taking in the image- but mostly- taking in the face of the body that she had found. The face of a person she never really knew, and probably would never know._

_It all happened in a brief instant. One moment Draco was wondering if he should skip on ahead again, and the next he watched as the body awoke, Crabbe's arm jutting out to hit Chang hard across the chest. The woman stumbled, her eyes wide as the body of a presumably dead man shook itself awake. _

_Chang sat on the floor for several seconds unmoving, the woman obviously stunned from what she was seeing. Half a moment later she was pinned back against the wall, those talon like nails that Scorpius had appearing right before Draco's eyes. With his talons, Crabbe cut the necklace from around Chang's neck._

_Draco half expected to see the girl get her throat slit, but the door to the room opened and a figure stepped through. The blonde's heart stopped cold as he recognized the figure. _

_The man said something in Latin, something that Draco didn't recognize but decided to try and remember. The figure of Crabbe paused in his movements, and it was lucky for Cho since her throat was about to be ripped open._

"_Turn," the new figure said dully, and Crabbe turned, Cho still tight in his hold. Unsurprisingly, Vincent had the same inhumane eyes his son now harbored. "Drop her; she's of no need now."_

_The black-haired woman hit the floor with a thud, scrambling as far from possible away from the figure of Crabbe. Her back hit the wall and she tucked her knees in, absolutely terrified, her eyes wide with fear. _

_The newcomer stepped forward, his wand still trained on Crabbe. "My, you turned out better than I expected. A bit too early to transform in my opinion, but you will work nonetheless." He flicked Vincent's cheek, clicking his tongue. "It's such a shame that I am not allowed to create any more of you. Pity."_

_Draco narrowed his eyes, watching the man as he spoke. "But it will never do to have you wandering around this place, not with everyone in a bloody uproar about your unprecedented death." He chuckled. "Well, your _pretended_ death. No, I suppose I can't leave you this way."_

_The man's attention changed then, moving from Crabbe to Cho. "You're a pesky girl, aren't you? I expected you to stop being so meddlesome after your alarm from finding him. It will never do to have you blabbing about this all over London, will it?"_

"_I-I won't tell anyone," she said, scooting further into the well. Draco didn't exactly blame her for being so afraid; he would be mind-fucked too if dead people just started getting up and partnering with other dead people. Merlin help him, it sounded like he was in the loony bin._

_The man clicked his tongue. "If only I could believe you," he said, accio-ing her wand to him in her panic. She shivered as he moved closer, trailing the wood of his own down her jaw. "But maybe I can place an ounce of trust in you."_

"_I won't tell," she said again, shaking her head vigorously. "No one will know."_

_He smirked, and Draco didn't like that his own smirk resembled the look on the man's face quite so much. "Of course they won't sweetheart, I'll make sure of it. Imperio." Draco let his eyes widen a fraction, recalling that this happened _years_ ago. And yet Chang was being placed under the Imperio? _

_The man leaned forward, smirk still intact. "You will never speak a word of this Darling, or so help me, I'll end you myself." _

Draco pulled out of her mind, feeling the girl stir. He let go of her entirely, standing and stepping away from the chair. He didn't exactly expect to find_ that_.

Before her movement could be noticed by Healers and stir up a commotion that he was in the room, Draco turned and hurried out, returning down the route he had come. His mind worked a mile a minute, trying to piece together the pieces from Chang's mind as well as the story Crabbe had spun for him.

Now he understood the necklace implement; Crabbe gave them the same necklace that he and torn from Cho's neck in that memory. Which means he must've lied; he had to of had some memory before he was sent to the woods.

And to top it all off, that fucking man was involved with things back then too! He had placed Chang under the Imperio to never tell anyone about what she saw; an Unforgiveable spell that Draco wasn't so sure had ever ended.

He knew one thing for sure though. He had Chang's story and he fully intended to speak to Crabbe now, not only on his son's behalf but Hermione's as well.

* * *

"I thought you were going to go confront them," was the first thing Hermione had to say when she saw him. She was sitting on his bed, her arms crossed across her chest. "I even peered out the door for you, but I couldn't find you."

"Concerned?" Draco asked, trying to keep his tone level. He had been back only a moment, and already the girl seemed uptight. Maybe that's what he got for leaving her the way he did that morning, and then disappearing not long after.

"Annoyed," she corrected, eyebrows drawing together. "So just where did you disappear to that required you to go on a "little mission" earlier? I expected you to go out and confront them, not disappear from this place entirely! Do you know how many questions I received from Scorpius- and Blaise, who expects you to floo him by the way, whenever you have a chance."

Draco waved a hand, moving to sit down on his bed as well. "I discovered something."

"Oh? Something so important that you had to disappear for hours and leave me behind like I would be no help at all?"

The blonde bit his lip, resisting the urge to point out that considering that the majority of his time was spent searching Cho's thoughts through Occlumency that she really would've been of no help. "Fairly important, yes."

"And what is that?" she muttered. He could tell that she was sore with him.

He just shook his head at her, trying to ignore her foul attitude. "I went and I inspected Cho- don't give me that look, it's actually quite beneficial. Chang did find him, just like he said. She even returned to check on him and he woke up-"

"What are you going on-"

"And when he attempted to slice her throat, a force stopped him. Hermione, Adam actually had a part in this."

She clamped her jaw shut then, her expression hardening. Well, _that_ didn't sound promising.

* * *

**A/n: **Thoughts? Next chapter will be up in a week at most!


	22. The Hands

**A/n: **Hi there! Sorry about disappearing for a bit, I had finals and then a caught a major cold that surrendered me to my bed for several days. But I'm better now and thankfully I passed the eleventh grade wonderfully! Off to college now, but not until the fall. Now, onward to another chapter good readers! Thanks to my amazing betas **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Hands**

"Why did you go without me?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Why did you go see Cho like this- _how_ did you even speak to her? I was under the impression that she wasn't awake."

"She's not," he muttered, looking away from her questioning eyes. "Look Hermione, I was planning to go and speak to Crabbe about whatever he did to you, when an idea occurred to me. I went with it and hurried to the hospital, and then I used Occlumency to read her thoughts. But what I figured out is pretty damn important."

"You shouldn't just be reading peoples thoughts like that," she muttered. "It's a total invasion of privacy."

"And Crabbe reading yours isn't?" he countered. Hermione grew silent at that. "Exactly. Now will you listen? What I learned is important, I promise."

"If you say so," she replied obviously moping, gesturing with her hand. Draco wasted no time re-accounting what he had learned. By the end, Hermione wasn't acting so stubborn.

"And now that we know what actually happened," Draco continued, "Then Crabbe has to answer our questions. The only problem might be that he bit you, and Merlin knows what that's going to do."

The brunette nodded. "True, but he doesn't know that you know that he bit me."

Nonetheless, Draco didn't look convinced. "Granger, I had to come get you from outside and bring you in. I'm pretty sure he knows."

"Well, what can we do?" she asked, sounding like she didn't rightly know. He shrugged in return, rubbing his head, suddenly uncertain about how to proceed. "You could just go out to speak to him."

Draco scoffed. "Yes, I'm sure since the bloke fancies me so very much; he will be more than willing to tell me everything about his past. No Hermione, I don't think that's going to work out too well. Something tells me he's going to want you present, only we don't know what will happen if you're in the same vicinity as him."

"Well maybe it's just a chance we have to be willing to take," she replied, standing up. "All three of us have been bitten now, yet only Scorpius has changed. There must be a difference in the ways we were bitten; else we would be in the same boat as your son. And until we can understand what the sublime difference is, I can't begin to help him. And although his condition has stabilized for the time being, I doubt he will remain as an in-between. I'm certain that if the process is not altered, Scorpius will become just like them, and I know that's not something you want."

"Not specifically," he grumbled, "But we still don't know how to handle this."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Don't even think about leaving me in here again! Adam is involved in this now, and I'm certain I know Adam better than you. Besides, you went and saw Cho without even inviting me along! No matter what might happen when you do take me with, it doesn't matter, because I will be coming. I am here to help, you know."

Draco sighed. "I was afraid you would say something like that."

* * *

As he opened the door, the ginger saw the man writing away at his desk.

"Ah, Percy, come right in!" The man shut the door quickly, walking anxiously to sit in front of his boss' desk. It always made him nervous when the Minister called him to his office, considering that it was impossible to predict what he wanted.

"Hello," the man said pleasantly as possible, putting on a grin for the Minister. There was no doubt in anyone's eyes that Percy adored his job, but some of the things the man was involved in made him ill. One of those things just happened to be the vampire insinuation. That topic had him spinning restlessly in bed some nights.

The man played the part of a kind person for a moment, going along with the basic formal greetings. But once the pair was finished, the Minister's expression hardened. "Do you know why I called you here?"

Percy shook his head, still lost.

"This meeting is in regards to a certain assignment I've been having you play a part in," the Minister continued, raising an eyebrow as though to press the words into his listener. "Have any ideas as to what that might be?"

The man gulped, unexcited about the topic. "The vampires?"

"Very good. Now, I know we aren't the department that deals with creature care, but even the department isn't aware that these beings prowl the earth still. This is a very delicate situation, and thus far I believe you have done an adequate job corresponding with Adam Lincoln in regards to things."

"Thank you."

"But I don't want you simply talking to Adam," the man pressed. "Although he is the vampire at the forefront of things, his actions aren't trustworthy. Even his boss back at St. Mungo's, Frank Williams had his questions about the man's motives. Adam is a singular creature, and he works best when he is trying to only benefit himself. The man isn't the mostly trustworthy, but unfortunately he does the majority of the speaking. Those creature that reside out behind Malfoy Manor, well, most of them don't like human interaction. Even the woman Sarafene that he parades around like a prize doesn't particularity like us, and she isn't the most trustworthy either."

"I remember her- she was sitting with Lincoln, right?"

"Yes, yes indeed, Percy. Adam often parades her around like a trophy if I recall every single time I've seen the pair together." The man rolled his eyes. "Nonetheless, they are not the reason I called you up here today."

"Then what is?" the ginger asked curiously.

"It's the son- Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. His transformation has stalled from what the reports say that Miss Granger still factors through to St. Mungo's. Williams informed me of this just the other day, saying that nothing has changed in quite some time."

"And?" Percy asked, knowing it was a bit rude, but he was unable to contain his sudden interest in the matter.

"So something has changed," his boss replied. "The boy was bit viciously, and nothing was held back in the initial attack. Now, we are not experts about vampiric qualities considering that anyone who really attempts to study them ends up killed, but I do know that there is more than one way to bite someone, though the method used is unknown. But Scorpius Malfoy was bitten viciously, probably to be killed, but he was saved and now the venom is transforming his body. However, the process won't simply halt for no reason, and certainly not on such a young child."

The man looked perplexed. "I see, but Minister? How does this tie to me?"

Chuckling, the man pointed at him with a quill. "How does it tie to you?! Oh, Percy my boy! There's a lot that's going to rest on you regarding this."

That didn't sound good either, and Percy bit down his agitation at the statement as his boss continued. He really didn't want to tell the man that he hated dealing with the vampires entirely, especially when he had given over so much to the ginger regarding the problem.

"If Hermione Granger can keep the child from fully transforming, and even possibly reverse the process, then this conundrum can be put behind us! If she can manage such an impossible feat, then all we must do is give the antidote back to the vampires and we can be rid of the creatures! The Ministry made an alliance with these undead creatures centuries ago, and during the war they fled like cowards into hiding. The only reason that we even correspond with them anymore is because they are quite immune to magic for the most part, and can be quite tedious to kill. If the world of humans were their enemies, more of us would probably suffer and die. Now you my boy, you're going to be the medium."

"I'm going to be the what?"

"The medium! You see Percy, like I said, Adam and that girl Sarafene are the only ones who really correspond with us, but it's hard to know their true intentions. I mean for Merlin's sake, there's talk about Adam actually having a moral woman holed up in his apartment, under his control! It's bollocks if you ask me, but nonetheless something like that can't be simply ignored. Lincoln has come to my office on several occasions regarding similar circumstances, and each time he has denied having anyone under his control. But be believe that vampires have the unearthly power to control people to a certain extent. Only, the person has to want the vampire the same way the vampire wants them. Considering that Adam is a smooth talker, it's not a complete impossibility."

"So you want me to…"

"The first thing I want you to do Percy is return to Adam's apartment- which I know you have visited before- and see if anyone is hidden there." Instantly, Percy recalled seeing a woman there on more than one occasion. "If someone is there try to speak with her. Once you have done this, report back to me."

The ginger frowned. "That's it?"

"Oh, don't worry Percy. There will be far more to handle when the time comes."

* * *

"I think we're going to die."

"Can you ever say anything motivating?" Hermione asked, rolling her eyes at his inability to be confident in anything besides himself. "We're not even outside yet and your already declaring that this will end in bloodshed."

Draco shrugged. "I'm only thinking about every possibility at this point."

"Well, try and think of something cheerier. I don't want to be thinking about impending death when I walk outside; unlike you, those things can read my mind."

The blonde shrugged again, falling into step beside her instead of behind her now. "Fair enough."

When the duo came to the conclusion that all they really could do was take a chance and go outside- since Hermione was annoyingly stubborn about going along- and see what kind of answers they could discover. Hopefully Crabbe wasn't playing them about actually meaning to help them. After all, neither of them was quite sure about his true motives anymore.

Outside the winter air was bitter as ever, but for once they were both well dressed and had their wands handy. Draco was still wandering slowly, trying to figure out what kind of spell Adam used. He wished he knew it so he knew what to do on the off chance that they did get attacked, even through the barrier.

"Do you think they can tell that we are waiting out here?" she asked, pausing a bit back from where the barrier rested. "If no one is observing this place, then how could Crabbe know to come see us?"

Draco shrugged, standing closer to the barrier than she did. "I'm not quite sure, Hermione."

For several moments nothing happened, and they stood there in the backyard of the Manor staring into a white world, decorated from the flurries of snow that fell there. The blonde exchanged a glance with the woman behind him when nothing happened, wondering what exactly they should do. After her stint that morning, he was in no mood to chance either of their safety stepping past the barrier. He barely wanted her out there as it was.

With their attention distracted, the vampire took up an oppritunity to step forward. When Draco turned around half a moment later, Crabbe stood on the other side of the barrier studying them, his eyes flickering between the pair. Despite the situation, Draco didn't let an ounce of emotion slip onto his face.

"Crabbe."

"Malfoy, Granger," he replied, looking at them both in turn. Hermione frowned at the names, knowing that he had called them both by their given names before. Why he bothered to change now, she didn't know.

Draco reached into his pocket, pulling something out to toss across the barrier. Crabbe picked it up once it was on his side, and Hermione could see in the gleam of her wand that it was the necklace Crabbe tossed to them originally, the one he said was Cho's. Studying the object only briefly, he wasted no time looking back at them.

"Well, this came later than promised."

"There were complications," Hermione reminded, maintaining her distance when the man looked up at her with interested eyes. "Some of which you created."

Crabbe waved his hand at that, seemingly trying to disregard the topic. "Whatever you say, Princess." The girls eyebrows lifted up, and she tried to recall if he had ever called her that before in front of Draco. "But that's not the reason you came out I suppose. If you tossed me this, then you must want to share your story, in the hopes that I'll give you some answers."

"You better give us answers," the blonde seethed. "You're not just running once you have the information you want. For every piece of the story that I reveal to you, you must reveal something to me about how to help my son."

The vampires expression tightened. "I don't recall that being the deal we arranged."

"We didn't go into specifics such as this Crabbe. There is no true way for me to know that you won't just run off once I have told you what you want, not unless I hold you to our deal somehow. This is how I will do it. I'll tell you a smidge of the story, and then you tell me something useful. I won't do it any other way, for there is too much of a possibility that you will betray us and take your leave into the woods."

The man seemed to consider Draco's words for several moments before finally nodding his agreement. "I suppose," he snapped, "If that is the only way you intend to reveal anything. Just be cautious of the games you play Draco, for I have other vices that you do not yet know of." His eyes flickered up to Hermione, and Draco wondered just what that bite mark implicated. He wasn't in favor of finding out, however.

"Very good," the blonde replied, keeping his cocky composure about him. "Then I suppose I should start from the beginning of what I discovered. Chang found you up in the Room of Requirement once we returned to school. Your body was surprisingly unburned, and she quickly reported it to the Headmistress. Some Aurors came and took your body away."

Crabbe raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't look very riveted by the information. There was a moment of silence between the three, and Draco wondered if he was going to go back on their agreement. "When a vampire bites you, the venom used to abstract a kill can be of different varieties. Sometimes the bites are only administered to provide a bit of strength on their part, not to kill. Vicious bites will kill, those intended to be made into a full meal receive this kind of onslaught. And when the meal cannot be finished, behind lingers a bit of the venom we use to petrify our victims. When someone isn't killed during such an attack, the venom seeps into their body and takes on the genetics that make up our physical structure. These people become susceptible to change into another vampire."

Hermione stepped forward at that, resting a hand on the blonde's shoulder when he tensed. The last thing they needed was for him to break into a fit of rage while they attempted to share facts with the undead man.

Standing up on her toes, she spoke into his ear. "Don't get lost in a single statement. There's more to discover here, and if you lose your head now our chance to help your son might dash away into the woods. Don't lose your cool Draco." Crabbe seemed to watch her intently as she spoke, but the woman did her best to ignore him entirely. Draco cleared his throat a moment later, seemingly coming back into the reality of things.

"Chang was questioned for a long time about what happened to you, or at least what she thought had happened to you by the Aurors in an interrogation room. She didn't take the experience well, and she seemed a bit mentally unstable about your situation. Everyone involved was fascinated though with how your body survived. She even went to see your body at St. Mungo's, apparently before an autopsy was administered."

Crabbe frowned at that, seeming perplexed by the information. But he shook off whatever thoughts plagued his mind fairly quickly, seeming to know that it would be foolish to halt the conversation now. "Vampires have been around as long as the human race has been Draco, deriving from a contamination in something in the earth at the beginning of time. Like everything else, the species has adapted and changed. There are a few rare cases of the vampiric process being halted halfway through the transformation, though it must be processed during the early stages of change. Many people can't be changed, simply because they transform too quickly. And a child is likely to evolve faster than most."

"He hasn't though," Hermione said, stepping into the conversation now. Although she unhappily agreed to let Draco present the story simply because he had been the one that surfed through Chang's memories, she didn't think the blonde man quite understood the medical aspects of the situation to the extent she did. "He reached a certain level of change before he halted transforming, but he's still part human. His body doesn't function the way it should and parts of it appear to have shut down, but overall he is maintaining the same physical levels of things as he was beforehand. Something altered the full transformation."

"That's different," Crabbe said, looking perplexed now. "I haven't been living this lifestyle long, and many of the aspects of things like this are very new. I couldn't quite tell you why that is."

"Who can?" Draco asked, cutting in. The other man only raised an eyebrow.

"Someone who has been living this way for years. Sarafene might be somewhat useful, for she has been like this since the seventeen hundreds. She's not ancient by any means, but she has seen far more regarding this than any of us have. She might be a source of information, but if you haven't noticed, none of the others I live here with truly like interacting with you. It's in our nature to avoid human contact."

"Well, she needs to suck it up and come speak to us," Draco muttered. "If she knows anything, then she would be resourceful to this entire situation. Go tell her that she needs to speak with us, now."

Crabbe's expression darkened. "She won't listen to you like that. The woman hardly listens to anything I say, much less _obeys_ it. Sarafene is very independent, and she's important in the game of things. She does all the conveying to the Ministry for us."

Both Hermione and Draco paused there, seeming to gape. "She does what?" Hermione asked at length.

The man frowned. "She communicates between those of us that live in these woods and the Ministry whenever they think it's necessary to bother us. Lately that's happened a lot."

"I didn't even realize the Ministry knew about these things," Hermione said, sounding rather surprised. "I thought… I thought all of you were kept secret."

"Well we are," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "If the entire world knew of our existence on this earth, there would likely be an uproar. Humans tend to not like having vampires roaming the world, not when they are bloodthirsty. But our existence can't simply be ignored forever either. The Ministry knows of us in a few departments, simply to _regulate _us." He sounded disgusted by the word. "I suppose from your reactions that you were not informed of this."

The brunettes face heated up. "No! If someone brought this up earlier then I wouldn't have wasted a good amount of time searching through a library when I could just ask someone! I can't believe no one has thought to tell us this!"

"Yes well, it's not something that just anyone can be told- though I suppose that no one can complain since you figured it out yourself." Crabbe shrugged his shoulders. "It's not something that is easily shared. If people really started finding out, they would want us killed, and we are a bit difficult to take down."

Draco's mind clicked back to Cho's memories, and the lone spell that Adam used to control Crabbe originally. "Do you know any of those spells then?"

The man frowned. "No, I don't. But they are used to render a vampire helpless. Look, Draco, I don't fully understand what has happened to your son, simply that his transformation is rather unorthodox. Whatever has hindered the process is a mystery to me, but if you could perhaps persuade Sarafene to speak to you, then she might be able to shed some light on the subject."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure that will be easy, considering how willing she is to interact with us."

With a light shrug, the man turned his attention from Draco to Hermione, briefly, seemingly letting smirk flicker across his face in the process. "Give it some thought Draco my friend, and I'm sure you can come up with a way to persuade _someone_ to talk her into seeing you."

If Crabbe noticed the anger boiling in the blonde's eyes, he didn't let on.

* * *

"You know _exactly_ what he was hinting at," Draco seethed, sitting on his bed. When Crabbe proved to be of no use, they decided to return inside and escape the bitter cold.

"I have a good idea," Hermione replied, rubbing her neck. It was apparent from the look Vincent sent her way that he wanted something from her, and she got the feeling that it wasn't something she was going to do. If anything, it made her skin crawl whenever he hinted at things like that. "But there has to be another way to speak to Sarafene not only about the spells, but her interaction with the Ministry."

"Why does that matter?" the blonde asked, sounding perplexed. He watched the woman continue to pace, knowing that her mind was spinning, while his blood boiled. Unfortunately they kept up their part of the deal with Crabbe, but he proved to be next to useless considering all the effort that actually put into filling the gaps in his mind. They spent the time to investigate Cho, seek her out when she was hiding, and he even went to find her at the hospital, and all Vincent could do was cause more questions than answers to appear. It was really grating on the blonde's nerves.

Hermione paused in her path, turning to place her hands on her hips and look over at him. "Yes it does, Draco. If the Ministry is regulating these creatures, then they must at least know _some_ of the spells used to destroy them, or something! How else do you regulate something? My point is, that could be exceptionally useful for us to know."

"Why? So you can hex my son if there is no solution?"

The girl could hear it in his voice that he was frustrated, but she didn't let on about it. They just needed to put their thoughts in order, setting emotional entanglements aside for a bit. "I wouldn't do that," she said, softening he tone just a hair. "I'm invested in this situation, no matter how many times you doubt my support. I'm not just going to give up on your son just because things are difficult. Perhaps you have forgotten from school, but difficult situations are some of my favorite. They involve intensive thinking."

Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes at that. "Why am I not surprised?"

She shook her head. "I'm going to take a shower Draco, and let your mind cool while I'm gone. Being angry about the situation isn't going to help us get any closer to helping your son."

"Isn't there a potion or something to help with this?" he asked, rubbing his temples. "We haven't done extensive research on that yet."

"No," she relented, turning towards the bathroom, "But I'm not sure how altered his genetics and his reaction system is. I don't know how his body will be affected by certain things, and I really don't think that you want me using your son as a test subject. Potions really aren't my thing; I was decent in school, but I never specifically excelled at that. I would not nominate myself to create a potion for him if that's where you're going with this."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't," he muttered, seeming lost in his thoughts. She hesitated at the bathroom door, waiting to see if he would say anything more.

"I'll let you think," the woman said after several moments, stepping into the bathroom. Without waiting for a response, she stepped in and breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut. Although she was invested in helping with Scorpius, sometimes the situation got a little stressful. A nice hot shower would do her wonders.

Stripping out of her clothing, she took a moment to study the mark on her neck in the mirror. Although she used a simple charm to cover the mark earlier, she couldn't disregard the fact that she was extremely uncomfortable in the presence of Crabbe, specifically because he did that to her. She really didn't even know what it entailed, or if it was strictly there to signify that he drank her blood. Yet she felt that there was something stronger behind it all.

Shaking her head, she decided she was thinking silly things. "What could it possibly mean besides that he took some of my blood? Draco was bitten, and nothing unusual has happened to him. Silly me." Turning, she flicked on the shower with her wand, knowing it would be hot. After giving the water several moments to steam up the room, she set the piece of wood aside and stepped into the large shower, ignoring the fact that this was Draco's personal bath. Hermione still wasn't sure how she quite felt about being so close to him.

The water was hot, yet luxurious. The girl allowed the boiling water to attack her skin, the heat tingeing her faint complexion with a slightly red hue. But she didn't notice, for the heat was relaxing, and she just wanted to be careless for a bit.

Unconsciously, her hands slid up her body. She closed her eyes, her mind focused on soaking her curls. The woman didn't actually realize what was happening with her hands until both of her breasts her cupped, and a tight pinch to each nipple snapped her back to reality.

_What the hell?_ Although she wasn't a prude, Hermione wasn't one to go around touching herself, in the shower or in bed. It wasn't something she practiced, and to catch herself doing so in the shower as a bit startling.

_Games Princess. It's all a set of sweet, sweet games._

Her eyes narrowed. Why would Crabbe be in her head now, of all times? "_Go away"_

_There's very little venom in your words, Hermione Granger. I think you like the attention I was giving you._

Immediately, she felt her skin crawl again. Forgetting the entire reason for why she decided to purge herself with a shower, the woman shut the water off and jumped out, all too eager to have a towel around her body. She might be the only one in the bathroom, but suddenly she felt very, very naked.

_Don't hide Princess. I quite thought you were enjoying yourself._

"_Are you sure that was enjoyment, Crabbe, or repulsion?" _Shaking her head, Hermione tried to shake the creepy feeling from her person. She didn't like even considering that her actions several seconds ago were not her own, but were actually someone else's. It was too disturbing.

_You are a stubborn one, Princess. But don't fret, I shall have you soon enough._

* * *

**A/n: **So with this chapter, I kind of drew a blank. I had half of it typed up beforehand, and just finished the rest today. But am I super pleased with this? No. I need a developer chapter, but let's be honest, I'm slightly stuck at the moment. Hopefully the next chapter will flow easier and be a lot more interesting! Got any ideas? If someone has anything inspiring to suggest the next chapter might appear faster and be a lot more entertaining!

If you have an idea or suggestion as to how something should go or a guess on all the secrets here, let me know. I'm in a stage of writers block, so anything could spark some inspiration in me :)


	23. The Dragon Blood

**A/n: **New chapter! Lots here, and we get to see from several different characters and read about a bunch of different things. Hope you enjoy! I quite like how this chapter turned out actually, which is good considering how lost I was with the last one! Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and **Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Dragon Blood**

"You're incredibly tense," Draco pointed out when she sat down on the bed. "And you're still dripping wet."

"I need to talk to you, now," she said determinably, drawing the blonde's attention quickly. From what he knew, she was insistent on taking a nice long shower. Now she couldn't wait to talk to him? And she was getting water all over him!

"At least dry off first," he muttered, waving his wand to dry her body. The fact that she was sitting in just a towel was a little unsettling, and he was beginning to get the feeling that something was very wrong. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're not dressed," he pointed out, and she paused a moment before her cheeks turned bright red. She was suddenly very disturbed by what Crabbe was saying in her mind, so much so that she completely disregarded the fact that she wasn't really wearing anything. Jumping up, she hurried back into the bathroom again and slammed the door. Draco stared after her, completely at a loss.

"I think she's mental sometimes," he muttered, getting off the bed. While she fixed herself up, he decided to take a quick detour from the room and go visit his son. She would probably hide in there from embarrassment for several moments anyway, and that would give him plenty of time to go and visit Scorpius.

Wandering down the hall, he felt confident for once. His son was safe in the structure now, and although the information from Crabbe's side was lacking quite a bit, he knew in the back of his mind that they were getting _somewhere_. He just wanted to make his son better again, that was all, and although the agonizingly slow process was killing him, Draco knew that something was better than next to nothing.

Opening the door to his son's room, he didn't initially notice that anything was wrong. He wandered in, lazily flicked on some light, and that's when he noticed the changes.

Scorpius lay on his bed, the body curled into a ball instead of leisurely stretched out. Even from where he stood Draco could see the small beads of sweat on the back of his child's neck, and it was fairly obvious that the child was shaking. Hurrying to the boys side, grabbed his sons shoulder, only to be answered with a pained moan.

"Scorpius? Scorp?" He shook the boy gently, literally lifting the child off the bed and turned him over so he could study his son better on that side of the bed. The boy's face was scrunched together, beaded in sweat as well.

"Fuck me. Granger! Hermione, get your arse in here!"

* * *

"I don't understand," she said, running her wand over the child's trembling figure again. "Everything was going so well, I don't know why there would be a relapse."

"That's because you don't know anything about this matter," he muttered, his arms crossed tightly over his front.

Hermione glanced up from her work, raising an eyebrow at him. "Don't get snippy with me Draco. This isn't my fault after all, no matter how much you might like to think it is. I'm doing my best in this moment, alright? I just wish I understood why everything changed so suddenly."

The blonde relented, taking a deep breath. It may not be her fault, but that didn't mean that he had anyone else to vent to. She was the closest person unfortunately, and after seeing her in a thin towel, he was not only having conflicted feelings about the damn witch but he was also having a hard time keeping his focus.

_What's wrong with you Draco? You need to be focusing on your son! _

Although Hermione was the best witch in her field, it appeared that even this woman was again stumped by the circumstances set before her. There hadn't been a change in Scorpius' condition in ages, and to suddenly see such a drastic one now was alarming. He could tell that she really way trying to figure something out quickly, but that didn't help with his mood. He was tired of playing this endless game.

"I don't get it," she muttered. "I don't get it."

"What don't you get?"

The woman glanced up briefly. "Why his condition keeps changing. He was very bad for a while, then it got stabilized, and now he's in a dangerous state again." Reverting to simpler methods, she placed a hand on the young boy's forehead. "And he's burning up."

"Use a cooling spell," the blonde replied, and she shot him a dark glare.

"You must not deal with fevers that often, Draco. It is extremely dangerous to flip flop someone's body temperature like that so quickly. It can do more harm than good, and we really don't need that right now." Conjuring up a wet cloth, she held it against the younger Malfoy's forehead. "I don't want to use any unnecessary spells anyway. Since his condition has changed again, we don't want to do anything rash and accidently cause more harm than good."

"Then what exactly do you propose we do?" he asked, glancing over his son. Again, Hermione caught the briefest glance of raw emotion. It was blatantly obvious that Draco was concerned deeply for his son, as any good parent should be.

"We just have to wait and see," she replied, stepping back to cast a few charms. "The shakes will go away when the fever breaks, as will the sweating I believe. I just don't understand how someone who is on the way to becoming a creature of the night can end up having a raging fever."

Draco's eyes darkened at that topic, and when she looked up again he was bending across the bed, his grey orbs lit with fire. "_Don't_ say that."

"Don't say what?" she asked, a bit confused. But he was already moving to stand next to her, his voice still dangerously low.

"_Don't _call my son some fucking _'creature of the night'_," he replied, standing directly in front of her. Realizing where she had hit a nerve, the brunette relented, nodding her head.

"I didn't mean anything by it," she said, deciding to be the sane one in the conversation. He was really worked up over the comment as it was.

"I hope not," he spat, and she sighed. Anything that even slightly sounded like an insult set this man off. And to think, less than ten minutes before she had been about to ask him for Occlumency lessons!

* * *

He sat in the trees, the annoying redheaded woman beside him. Crabbe couldn't quite explain why, but he got the feeling that she was keeping something from them. After all, Sarafene was around less and less those days.

"Where have you been?" he asked eventually when he could think of no better way to state the question. She glanced at him from her place within the branches, raising an eyebrow.

"I have things to do sometimes," she replied airy, waving a hand. "The Ministry has demanded my presence quite often recently."

"Yes," Vincent agreed, glancing away, "Why is that exactly?"

Sarafene scoffed. "It's not like I can tell you Vincent. That's why my missions are top secret."

"What's there to be secretive about though?" he asked, honestly perplexed. "All you're supposed to do is answer a few questions, right? And I know you occasionally verify that none of us were someplace where a death took place, but is that really all that secretive?"

The woman chuckled, shaking her head lightly. "There is more to it than that Crabbe, far more. But don't worry yourself over it, its fine. I've been doing this job for centuries, and nothing is going to change that now. Stop concerning yourself with it, it's not a big deal."

They fell into silence, and Crabbe ran over her words in his head again. She was brushing off the topic obviously, but he couldn't fathom why. After some time, he cleared his throat. "How goes things with the Ministry?"

"Fine," Sarafene replied, not looking his way. "The same as they have always been."

"I see," he replied, licking his lips. "Sara?"

"What Crabbe?"

He recalled his earlier conversation with Hermione and Draco, the one out in the woods. He kept instructing them to seek out Sarafene, knowing that she was more insightful about the problem evolving around Draco's son than he was. "What do you make of the situation with the Malfoy child?"

"The boy? Well, he was bitten! By all rights he should be just like us by now!"

"But he's not," Vincent reminded, adjusting himself on the branch. "He's still half human."

"Technically parts of us are still human too. He isn't changing because of his blood."

Crabbe's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

Sarafene glanced at him. "What, haven't you heard? These lands have been our residential home for years you know for a specific reason. The Malfoy's have always had a trickle of Dragon in them as you know, or as you _should_ know, considering you used to be Draco Malfoy's friend. What kind of affect would a vampire bite have on someone with even the faintest hint of Dragon blood in it? Nothing!"

"But, the child changed, at least partially, and he certainly has some of that blood in him."

"Well, of course. I've lived in these woods a long time Crabbe, and I've seen many things. The _Purebloods _have been inbreeding for years, whether they like to admit it or not. The Dragon blood is still within each Malfoy man and the daughters as well. But the child, the boy, he is merely that, a boy. He isn't developed, and he isn't old. His immune system is not as high as it will be ten years from now, and it makes him vulnerable. Most children don't change because they don't survive the venom, that's all. He was saved from death due to the addition to his blood, it's as simple as that. Only now he is stuck someplace between mortal and immortal, and that is a difficult place to exist."

Crabbe nodded, documenting every single thing she said to memory. He hadn't known any of this. "So, if Draco Malfoy was bitten?"

"It would have no effect. The Dragon blood would keep him immune, and his immune system would be strong enough to fight off any side effects. In all regards, he might not even notice if he was bitten at all."

Another thing to note. "But… how would the Malfoy's even get Dragon blood into them?"

To that, Sarafene outright laughed. "Well, that would be something to ask this Draco Malfoy character, wouldn't it?"

_Yes, it would. _

* * *

For Adam, part of the fun of being who he was, was getting the chance to fuck people over.

Like today for example.

He very well knew that the Ministry was up to something, and more so he knew that it had something to do with him. After using Astoria for the third time that morning he heard footsteps in the corridor outside and dashed away, warning her against saying anything about him having been there that morning.

The look on her face was priceless, but Adam knew it wouldn't last long. It was his turn to play games.

Opening the door, the woman had to blink several times before she even attempted to form a sentence. "I've seen you before," he heard her say, his heightened hearing helping him hear even from outside on the balcony.

"Yes," came the reply that he knew to be Percy Weasley, "I come over occasionally."

"What do you want today?" she asked, and he could hear the door shutting from outside. Sitting on the edge, he made himself comfortable.

Inside the apartment, Percy was feeling extremely apprehensive. The Minister warned him that Adam could be sneaky, just not how sneaky. He wasn't even sure if the man in question was home. "Is Adam around?"

"No," Astoria replied, automatically lying. "He left before I woke up."

"Why do you stay here?" Percy continued, never missing a beat. The faster he could complete this conversation the faster he could get away from this place. "I mean, you're rich-"

"Because Adam makes me happy," she interjected quickly, cutting off what may have been a long bout of rambling. "What more would there be to it?"

The ginger shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know."

"So why are you here again?" Astoria pestered crossing her arms. It was early in the morning, and she needed a shower. After Adam's use that morning though, she might take a bath instead.

Percy was quiet for a moment. There was a possibility that the former Mrs. Malfoy didn't even realize she was being controlled by paranormal forces, and he didn't want to bring something like that up only to have the woman freak out and suddenly think that he was mental. If Astoria wasn't aware of the control, than this meeting was pointless.

But if she was, and if she stayed despite that, then he might have something to play with, and even report to his boss. The ginger just needed to phrase his sentences carefully. He had no way of knowing if Lincoln lurked somewhere within the apartment.

"I just came to see Adam," he lied, "But I guess he's not home."

"No," Astoria agreed, her eyebrows drawing together. "He won't return until later."

"I see; I'll just be off then." He turned to go, intentionally stopping only a few seconds later. "Oh, and Astoria?"

"Hmm?"

"You're looking a little pale. When was the last time you got out of this place?"

The woman paused, during which time Percy didn't dare to turn around. "I don't remember."

That was enough to tell him something was wrong, and the ginger was grateful that he would at least have something to report to his boss. "I see. Perhaps you should try it; you don't want to lose your natural glow."

Without waiting for a response, the ginger bolted out the door. In the aftermath, Astoria felt her lip tremble. Adam probably wouldn't like her answers too much. Half a second later, she felt a hand ghost across her back and she jumped.

"He's gone," she said quickly when Adam raised an eyebrow at her. "He wanted to talk to you."

"I know," the man agreed, though he didn't sound convinced. As far as Adam was concerned, Percy never had any intention of coming just to speak to him to begin with. No, his attention seemed to be focused on Astoria, and he didn't like that too much.

He didn't like the idea of having a Ministry worker snooping through his home.

* * *

Hermione lay in the bedroom later, her head exploding. She had a headache from hell, and after doing all she could think of to help Scorpius she had retired to Malfoy's bedroom of all places and attempted to sleep the migraine away.

Unfortunately, after the nap she still had a raging headache. It really hurt, and caused her to not want to get out of the bed. So, to put it simply, she had been completely useless since her short spat with Malfoy that morning. She knew she needed to get up and do something useful, she just didn't feel inclined to.

_Hello, Princess._

She jumped at the sudden intrusion, regretting the action. Damn it, if only she hadn't gotten off on the wrong foot with Malfoy that morning, maybe she would be able to prohibit this from happening, or something! The woman was tired of having her mind read like an open book.

"_Get out, now."_ The brunette was already struggling out of the bed, wandering towards the door once on her feet. Since she was certain he would refuse to leave her be, she was just going to go find Draco and demand a lesson this instant. This was ridiculous.

_Oh, but I think you would want to hear what I have to say this time, Darling._

"_I don't really want to hear anything from you anymore. Your game in the bathroom was not funny, and I am not inclined to hold a conversation with someone so perverse. Go bother someone else."_

_Really now, Princess? You don't want to hear what Sarafene had to say about Malfoy's little twerp?_

Although Hermione was surprised by his comment, she refused to stop wandering around over that. Rounding a corner, she noticed Draco sitting in a chair, intently studying a book. Holding the side of her pained head with one hand, she quickly wandered over to him.

"_Don't spend your time lying to me Crabbe, I don't have the patience for it. We spoke just yesterday and you said you didn't know a thing about anything useful involving Scorpius."_

_But I have spoken with Sarafene, and I do know something quite interesting now._

"Draco," she said, pausing in front of the blonde. He barely acknowledged her at first, choosing to stare harder at his book. She reached out immediately, shaking his knee hard. "Draco!"

_Do you cry his name out often, Princess?_

"_Shut up!"_

"Are you alright?" the man asked, pulling her into a seat beside him. "You're rather pale."

"My head," Hermione complained, irritated with him. "You got angry earlier and became difficult to talk to. I was going to request that you give me some Occlumency lessons this morning, but that never happened. He's in my head again though, taunting and annoying me. He did the same thing in the shower this morning. Now you might be angry or whatever but teach me how to get him out of my thoughts! I'm sick of it!"

_Aren't you the emotional one today? I don't mean any harm this time princess._

Hermione groaned, leaning back against the couch she sat upon. "Go away…"

Draco, who sat beside her, was looking thoroughly confused as he stared at the woman. He had no idea what she was going on about involving a bathroom, just that the word was in her speech there somewhere. And she wanted Occlumency lessons now of all times, when the voice was already invading her head?

"Hermione, you have to focus on me, alright? Don't listen to him; it's going to give you more of a headache than I'm sure you already have. It's strenuous on your mind to flip flop between mental and physical conversations when you're not used to it."

_Well, isn't he just observant? Will you listen to me, Darling? You do need to know what I'm going to mention. I would just tell Draco, but the git has an airtight mind. You're going to have to be the messenger in this game, Darling. _

"How do I get him out of my mind?" she asked, holding both sides of her head. Part of her wondered if her headache originated from Crabbe or if it was all stress related.

"You have to focus," he replied, lightly rubbing her back. "You have to focus on putting walls up, one by one, around you mind. You have to picture shoving the force out. In actuality, the walls should be in tact before anything ever invades your mind."

Hermione groaned, attempting to do what he said and think about it through her headache. It didn't work too well.

_You're quite the stubborn witch, Hermione. No worries, you'll listen to me anyway. I spoke to Sarafene today, though you probably don't care too much about that._

"Just focus, Hermione. You have to strengthen your mind- I'll explain that some other time."

_We conversed about young Scorpius. What a wonder child he is, stuck somewhere in between the transformation! And to think, if he were only a few years older, he wouldn't have been affected at all._

That caught Hermione's attention quickly, and whatever Draco said to her next she missed. Placing a hand on his chest, she heard the murmur of his voice cut off and knew that he had grown silent. But she couldn't help it now. Despite the roar of her headache, all her attention was ironically focused on the invader of her mind.

"_What do you mean?"_

_Oh, it's simple Princess. After speaking with dear Sarafene, I learned an interesting factoid about Draco's family that I wasn't aware of, even in life. Somehow centuries ago, the Malfoy family got a bit of Dragon blood twisted in with their own. Even now, ages later, some still lingers. That's why Draco would not transform or die if he was bitten. The unusual blood flowing through his veins keeps him immune to our bites. As she put it, what good could a vampire bite do to someone with Dragon blood?_

Hermione stopped thinking for a moment, trying to process what she was being told. Standing, she ignored the concern written across Draco's face as she took a step away for a moment, before turning to look back at him again, a space between them now.

"You have Dragon blood in you?" she asked, sounding just as startled as she was confused. He didn't respond at first, and simply stared at her from the same position on the couch. After several moments, he finally rose from his position.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

Slowly, she shook her head, rethinking over what Vincent told her. "No, no not at all."

"Hermione, what exactly are you going on about? Are you alright? You seem a little… scattered; you keep talking about strange things."

"I… yes, I'm fine. I don't need you to block my mind anymore at this moment."

Draco paused, looking more confused than ever. "Why not? You were just panicking about it."

"Yes," she agreed, her voice still sounding far off, "I was. But now I know something new. You have Dragon blood in you."

"I've known that for years," he replied, still not understanding why she was so in awe. "A lot of the old Pureblood families have a mixture of something laced into them; it's not too uncommon. You should've known as it is. It's written on Scorpius' record, just as it is mine. It's not like it's really a secret."

"Yes, I should've known," she agreed, noting that Crabbe was no longer interjecting something every time Malfoy finished speaking. "But I never… I never really thought about it."

Draco tilted his head. "Alright, then what exactly does it mean to you know? It has to somehow be important if you are so amazed by it."

Finally, she locked eyes with his. "I think that's why your son didn't immediately transform, and why everything is so unpredictable regarding how he will react next. Your blood is slightly different from anyone else's, meaning that although you might have a light immunity towards some things that other wizards do not, but it also means that you're likely to react differently to things than how others will react."

"So what Granger? You're just now letting something like this register to you?"

Hermione frowned, looking away. "Actually, I never read that part of your file, Adam did. When he was still here, we split the workload. He must've read that part, and he never really told me it was there. My eyes… I've probably danced over that little detail a thousand times when looking through things, and I never even picked up on it."

There was a pause in time as Hermione contemplated what to do next in regards to this. And Draco took that time to wonder about something himself. "Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"What exactly were you going on about about a bathroom?"

The brunette grimaced, wishing she had never mentioned it. "Never mind, I'll let you know later. Right now we have far more important things to worry about, involving you son. Occlumency will have to wait."

"Like helping my son?"

Hermione pointed a finger at him. "Yes, yes of course, we will check up on him. But even before that can be completed, there's something else to handle, something that Adam would probably like for me to still overlook."

"And just what is that?"

She turned, ignoring her headache. "It's time to do some research on this damn blood of yours."

* * *

"I never actually thought that you didn't know about the blood," Draco admitted later when they were sitting in the library. "Lincoln talked with me about it, and I just assumed that you two had spoken about it together."

"We hadn't," Hermione replied, flipping through six books at once. She looked more driver than ever to find answers, no matter how severe her headache was. She had a lead as to why things might be so unusually strange in Scorpius' case for the first time, and she wasn't about to just sit there and not take it someplace. For whatever reason Crabbe had provided a large clue to why things happened the way they had, and she wasn't going to let it slip away.

And she was certain that he wouldn't give her such information for free. Surely he intended to get something out of it; she just wasn't sure what yet. And that made her a bit unsettled. She hadn't explained anything to Draco even; not the bathroom incident, or what was going on earlier. And she was certain he would press her for answers if she didn't provide some soon.

Of course, she had hinted at a few things.

"Why would that Sara-whatever person say so much about something like that though?" Draco asked, still pondering over that bit of information. "Crabbe said she didn't like talking to mortals, but why would she so easily discuss something like that? It seems like it should be more secretive or something, you know?"

"I know," Hermione agreed, also slightly weary at how easy it had been to get that information out of the girl. This was possibly the only time she had actually ever wanted to speak to Crabbe, and no matter what she shouted in her mind he wouldn't respond. And Draco was refusing to try and look through the man's using Legilimency. "But we can't argue right now. At least we know something more."

"Yes, if my son had been born a year earlier or two he wouldn't be suffering now," the blonde muttered.

Sighing, Hermione set down the books and looked over at him. "You're missing the big picture here!"

"I'm not missing anything! I understand just as much about this as you do!"

"You understand, but you're not applying it," she replied, raising an eyebrow. "Draco, you have an unusual blood type. Certain potions use blood to work, and sometimes you can turn back the hands of time and change someone back to their former self. Sometimes we do it with burn victims at St. Mungo's if the wounds are severe. And here you have something magical."

To that, the blonde shook his head. "Hermione, I'm completely lost."

She grinned then, leaning across the table despite her headache. "Your blood might be able to be used to change Scorpius back! I'm sure it's never been attempted before, but why not? I wasn't even thinking of that possibility earlier when I thought our blood was the same, but this puts things in a new perspective. The magical properties of your blood can be used in a number of potions, and maybe with the right one, I can finally do something truly good for your son."

He perked up at that, his mind almost afraid to put any true hope on her words. After everything, he was concerned that nothing could be done. And now they were here, discussing the possibility that something truly good could be done. He never suspected that a possible solution would come to them viva Crabbe.

* * *

**A/n: **I hope you enjoyed! This chapter touches on all sorts of things, and really hints at some things. Thoughts? I updated early, so would you lovely readers be willing to send me a review due to that? I would be so happy if you did!


	24. The Tresspasser

**A/n:** Lots of Adam in here, and some not so kind things happen. No warnings though because its nothing too horrible. Check me out on facebook to follow my page; the link is on my profile ;) Thanks to my betas **Tessa Cresswell **and** JDeppIsMyLovely**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Tresspasser**

"What about you?" he asked, sitting on his bed later that night. Hermione paused what she was doing, setting her brush down on the dresser next to her. When did sleeping in Malfoy's room become so… comfortable?

"What about me?" she asked, a bit uncertain about the topic. He shrugged, twirling his wand in his fingers.

"Your bite. I've been thinking about this since you started rambling about my blood and its "properties", and it occurred to me that your quite different. Does this mean everyone who isn't Pureblood can become enslaved by a vampire due to a mere bite? Can you even imagine the slavery that would sprout up!?"

The brunette grimaced, unsure what to say about that. "I'm not sure, maybe. I'll know more once I can do some major research. That will start the day after tomorrow."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Why the day _after_ tomorrow? Why not simply tomorrow? It would speed up the process-"

"No," she said quickly, turning away. "Tomorrow I won't be doing anything about vampires, or anything else. I'll be returning to my home, and I'll come back when the clock strikes midnight. I expect you to leave me alone for the day."

Thoroughly interested now, the blonde swung his legs out of bed and walked over to her. "And what's so important about tomorrow, hmm? It's not a holiday or anything-"

"I want to spend it alone," she said simply, cutting him off. "I don't want to handle people."

Draco frowned, wondering why she was so defensive suddenly. Just hours ago, she was fine, and now that they were about to sleep she was acting uptight. Something was up, and he knew it. "Well, it's not like you have to handle a lot of people. Just my son and I. And besides Hermione, we need you. My son is suffering-"

"I'll work on it at home then," she said solemnly, closing her eyes, blocking him out of her mind as best she could. "I'll take all my notes and try to get something done, okay? But I'm not staying here for the day."

He dropped the conversation then, noticing that she seemed a bit shaky. Sighing, he returned to the bed and laid back down, shutting his eyes. The only way he even knew that she came to lie down as well was the distinct feeling of the bed dipping. But he refused to open his eyes and look at her, not when she was being so bloody difficult.

* * *

Cries- soft cries woke him. For several minutes Draco lay awake in his bed, listening to Hermione attempt to keep her cries quiet at his side. She was turned away from his side of the bed, lying curled in on herself. He didn't know how long she had been that way- much less awake- but he knew the tears could only have started recently. The door was dead silent aside from her quiet sobs, and he couldn't miss them.

What in Merlin's name did she have to cry over? Yes, he very well knew that her parents were dead, but he didn't even want to mention that while the girl was in such a distressed state. He didn't fancy wearing much to bed, and the last thing he wanted was to have the woman attempt to take out her aggravation on his precious jewels. No, he didn't want to do something like that.

So he wouldn't bring up the parent topic, he refused to. But he didn't quite like the idea of leaving her to fight off her demons either. Whatever plagued her mind seemed to be severely fucking with her.

"Hermione," he said at length, breaking the silence between them, "Come here." He didn't mean it in a demanding way by any means, and extended his arm across the wide expanse of pillows between them to allow her to roll into him. He wasn't exactly a gentle soul, but he would give this comforting thing a go if it meant that her sobs would cease. Yet the girl didn't move, much less say anything.

"Don't be so bloody stubborn. You're obviously sad over something, so stop being so bloody courageous and just roll. I won't even bite you." _Okay Draco, bad joke._

When she still refused to give even a hint of acknowledgement his way and continued crying after several moments, the man groaned and sat up, intent on figuring out just what her problem was. It was too fucking early to be playing games.

"Hermione-" he said, cutting himself off. For a brief moment he hesitated as he bent over her shaking form, before he flicked on the lights to study her further. Something was wrong.

_She's crying in her sleep? Oh, wonderful…_

Gently shaking her, he tried to get the girl to wake, but she merely tried to elbow him, and he grabbed the extended appendage, causing her to roll on her back. In the painful light he could see the glossy spots on her cheeks where tears left their trail, and cringed. She was throwing her head back and forth on the bed now, seemingly distressed at having been moved. He was still leaning over her form, one of his arms currently resting on the other side of her body.

"Fuck me," he muttered, before raising his voice. "Hermione! Bloody hell woman, wake up!" He shook her, causing the brunette to jolt awake. She bolted up immediately, knocking her head into the blonde's with painful force.

He cursed, rolling away to put some space between them again. Beside him he heard her groan, probably from hitting him so hard. He didn't even bother glancing her way until several moments later, once the ringing in his head and begun to subside- barely.

The woman was looking back at him, her eyes red from crying. They didn't speak immediately and simply stared at one another. It was Hermione who broke the silence.

"Did I wake you up?"

The blonde scoffed, rubbing at his eyes. "No, the silence in the room unsettled me and I just randomly woke up."

Maybe if he was looking her way, he would see the pain in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, brushing her hair away from her sweaty forehead, "I usually try to keep quiet."

Immediately, she had his attention. He was up on his elbows in a moment, surveying her. "Excuse me?"

"Hmm?"

"What exactly do you mean by 'keeping quiet'? Is this a routine thing, something I have been completely ignorant to or are you just being sarcastic?"

The girl shrugged against the bed, not meeting his eyes. "Usually it happens when I'm still awake, when it's easier to control my noise level. I can't recall the last time I cried in my sleep."

He let his eyebrows draw together, really focusing on her now. "And I never notice?"

"I'm good at staying quiet, like I said," was all she had to say, rolling away from him again. "But it's nothing to worry about, I'm fine. Just go back to sleep."

Half a second later, she was on her back again and he was leaning over her again. "Crying all the time isn't fine, Hermione. I'm willing to bet whatever you were just sobbing over is what's going to draw you away tomorrow."

The woman looked away, focusing her eyes elsewhere. "Why does it matter? Either way, it's my problem."

"And I have plenty of problems that shouldn't matter to _you_, yet you're involved in them. My son, the creatures in my backyard, and now my blood all circulate around you. But they aren't your problems, yet you're involved. So quit being stubborn and shut-off. I don't know why you feel you must shut me out, but that's not the case. You've already told me your parents are dead, so I can't figure out just what could have you so hurt now. It has to be about them, right? Or else-"

Hermione shoved him away, standing up and hopped off the bed. "So what if it's about my parents?" she asked, holding herself. "It's my problem, and if I don't want to discuss it respect that!"

She refused to look at him, and though he looked at ease on the bed, Draco felt extremely tense. She was so closed off about the subject, and even though he knew it was a sensitive topic, he couldn't help feeling like she wasn't telling him something big. Something was missing, and he realized that it had to be the reason that she was so hurt. Yet he doubted that she was going to indulge him in anything else.

When he didn't force her to speak again, she left the room. He didn't bother following, figuring that it would only cause her to be more upset. Draco stayed where he was in bed, refusing to follow and get nothing out of her again.

_Fine, then she can handle this problem alone. Fuck me for trying to help._

* * *

The following day Draco found his home to be surprisingly empty without the presence of Hermione. She was there so often that he became adjusted to her presence, and now noticed her absence more so than he ever thought he would. Sitting in his son's room that day, he wished she hadn't gone anywhere.

Multiple pain killers kept the boy sedated, keeping the pain at bay for now. He wouldn't dare administer the medicine to the young child, not when the quantities were so large. He would have to call her back to the Manor if that were the case, and he suspected that she would come, if only to help with the child.

Leaning back in the chair set up by the bed, he glanced at the book on the table. He had brought it up to his room yesterday night, hoping to read it a bit this morning. However he overslept due to his talk with Hermione the previous night, and brought it along to Scorpius' room that morning to read if the child fell asleep. He still wanted to figure out this nonsense with his blood, especially if Hermione thought that she might be able to heal the child with it.

He still didn't know everything about it as it was. And if he was distracted, maybe he would be able to ignore his irritation with the woman. Maybe.

* * *

The brunette didn't know what to do with herself, sitting there in her living room. It had been ages since she spent time at her apartment, and now the place felt foreign, when it was once comfortable. Even her bed was icy and forbidden, lacking the presence of a warm-blooded male at her side. She never realized how much she enjoyed sleeping beside Malfoy until she laid down in her bed, suddenly feeling lonely. Nothing about her modest little apartment felt right anymore.

But today she couldn't stay at the Manor and work, not when she knew that she would spend the day emotionally distressed. It would've been her father's birthday today, and she couldn't stomach that knowledge while attempting to work on Scorpius. Although it may have been nice to remain at Draco's and have someone else to be with, she didn't want to burden him. He had a son to be concerned with, and he didn't need to attempt to handle her problems as well, no matter what he said.

For the better part of the morning she lay in her empty bed, crying and occasionally reaching out for a body that wasn't there. She was used to Draco being within her grasp whenever she lay down, and now more than ever she regretted not staying at his home. But it would only cause problems.

She was quite startled when a knock sounded on her front door. Sitting up for the first time since arriving, she stared at her bedroom door, wondering just who would be bothering her apartment. She hadn't flooed Harry and Ron, and they would come through the fireplace anyway. Draco didn't know where her house was, and likely wouldn't leave his son to scout her out. So who else would bother trying to find her?

_It's probably a solicitor._ Ignoring the noise once more, she rolled over and shoved her head beneath a pillow.

The knocking grew louder, and she groaned. Tossing the pillow to the other side of her chilly bed, the woman hauled herself up, forcing herself to get up. She didn't really attempt to walk quickly to her front door, and spent the few moments between her bed and door pulling her hair back into a ponytail, attempting to look decent. Peering out the eyehole of her door, she frowned.

_They must've left. Why couldn't they leave before I got up?_

Hermione turned back to go to her bedroom again, and she stopped cold as she glanced back at her couch. The window was open in the living room now, allowing a chilly breeze to enter. And there, sitting on her sofa, having somehow _soundlessly_ gotten into her home was someone she didn't expect to see again.

"Adam?" she asked, perplexed. She didn't like that he had somehow gotten into her home and snuck in behind her. "What… what-"

"What am I doing here?" he asked, seeming completely comfortable in their current predicament. "Funny you should ask Hermione. I walked."

She took a step towards the left, getting away from the wall. "What are you doing here, in my house? How do you even know where I _live_?"

The tall man shrugged. "I have my ways. You're not looking too well Hermione, you seem pretty damn sad. Why would that be, hmm? Something wrong with your life?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. He wasn't supposed to be there, invading her house. And he certainly didn't need to know what as troubling her. Curse it all though, she hadn't brought her wand with to the door, and now she felt very uncomfortable.

Shrugging again, the man stood. "Can't I come to see an old friend?"

"We would've actually had to be friends for you to need to visit. How did you get in here? My home, it's heavily warded. How did you pass by them?"

Now, he grinned, taking a step towards her. She stepped back in return. "I have my ways."

Quickly, Hermione thought about her situation, considering just what to do. Her wand was in the other room, and he had to have his. What he wanted though, still escaped her. And hopefully she would get him away from her before she figured it out.

"Why are you here?"

Adam grinned, advancing again. "I thought it might be nice to stop by, see how things are going with little Scorpius." Faster than she could react, he was in front of her, pinning her by the neck to the wall. Her eyes widened as he began to choke her.

_Inhuman reflexes… what the hell?_

"So how is the kid?" he asked, grinning. "I have meant to visit, but Malfoy's fucking home is just so much harder to break into. So I decided to come visit you today."

She clawed at his hands, instantly trying to recall the muggle self-defense class she took ages ago. Merlin help her, why was she blanking now? Why couldn't she just fucking remember the moves?

"You're probably still wondering how I got in," he mused, rubbing at his chin thoughtfully. Hermione found it unnerving that he could hold her up off the ground in such a nonchalant way, choke her, and still seem completely unfazed by the situation. "Sorry Granger, but that's my little secret."

She gripped at his wrists, wondering when the man got so unusually strong. Was he always that way? She didn't recall, but didn't quite think it would be a smart idea to ponder it just then. She continued to struggle against his grounded form, kicking at legs that simply wouldn't budge.

"How long do you plan on doing that?" he asked, glancing down at her flailing legs with a bored expression. "Put a bit more effort into it; I don't feel a thing."

It was infuriating to know that her efforts weren't affecting him in the least, but she really didn't want to focus on that fact. The brunette was far more concerned with her decreasing oxygen, and his tightening grip on her throat. Taking a chance she reared back her leg, kicking higher up with all her might at a very important part of his anatomy.

Despite his denial to respond to any of her kicks, here his body bucked. She supposed it was a sensitive area even in his –probably- heightened state, considering that he might be a blood sucker just like Crabbe- or,_ something_. Nonetheless, he gave into the kick and bent forward, loosening his hold on her. Without missing a beat she struggled free, stumbling as far from him as possible while she coughed, regaining her breath.

"_Bitch_," he muttered, moving even as she picked up a heavy paperweight on the table beside her couch. She recalled buying the item ages ago, having never pictured that it would be used in circumstances such as this. She felt him latch onto one of her arms, and feeling the adrenaline pumping in her, spun around before he could grab the other and hit him in the head as hard as she could with the object.

Instantly, his grip on her slackened, and the woman stumbled away from the man as Adam fell, the paperweight following suit towards the floor, impacting the wood with a heavy thud. It terrified her that he didn't _bleed_ as he lay there.

_What the hell?_ Gripping her hair, she looked frantically, trying to make sense of her situation. Adam- who previously didn't know where she fucking lived- lay on her floor seemingly unconscious, the deadly paperweight broken by his side. Somehow her wards had been breached, and now she had a trespasser on her land. Stepping back, she closed her eyes.

First things first, she needed to be rational and get the fuck out of there. If Adam wasn't bleeding despite that blow then she doubted there was anything natural about him, and didn't care to stick around to see how he would be if she returned. Fleeing quickly past his body and down the hall, she snatched up her wand and slammed the door shut, cursing herself for leaving it there to begin with.

Taking a few deep breaths, she reasoned that she should just return to Malfoy's. Reporting the incident could wait until she was away from the man, and quickly she grabbed whatever might be important for her stay at the Manor, actually packing a rushed bag of supplies for the first time. Hurrying to the fireplace, she wasted no time calling out her destination and zipping away.

She saw Adam throwing the door to her room open just as she disappeared. And as always, she arrived in the same room she usually did when arriving at the Manor.

"Malfoy!" she called, frantically dropping her bag. She wasn't sure if the man knew where she had gone, but if he figured out that the floo system connected to Malfoy's home then the last thing she wanted was for him to follow her through to the Manor. "Draco, where are you?!"

Half a second later the blonde appeared from around a corner, his eyes widened as he took in her appearance, and the man rushed to her side, his eyes locked on her neck. "What the-"

"No time," she cut in, gripping his hand. "Block your floo network to my home!"

"Why-"

"Just do it!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, but nonetheless pulled out his wand and almost instantly blocked the floo network. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief when no one appeared, and it wasn't until after Draco had pocketed his wand again that she glanced back in his direction.

His eyes were still fixated on her neck, the color in his eyes darkening by the second. He wasn't questioning her about her frantic need to block the floo network, nor the sudden appearance of a bag. No, he was solely focused on the flesh at her neck, and self-consciously she reached up and rubbed the area, instantly feeling the soreness there.

Hermione cringed. In her mad dash to get to the Manor and away from Adam she forgot about being choked and consequently, forgot that marks might show. There couldn't be much there already, but from the look in his eyes she supposed it wasn't good.

"What the fuck happened?" he asked, crossing his arms. The venom in his tone was apparent, but she was frightened by the anger laced into each word. She had no need to be.

With a sigh, she sat down on the sofa, letting the last few minutes replay in her mind before she attempted to reply. Draco remained standing, watching her closely. "Adam broke into my house."

"_What_?!"

"Don't ask me how, I can tell you. I have numerous spells up around my house, and never before has anyone broken through. I don't know how he did it, but he got in. I heard knocking on my door and before I knew it he was inside my house."

"And he was choking you?" the man assumed, looking less than amused by the topic. "And you're okay with this!?"

Hermione frowned. "Hardly! But I'm not going to throw a damn fit about it! He got me up against the wall and I managed to get away. I ended up smashing his head with a heavy paperweight to get away, but it didn't do much good. He was already breaking through the door of my room by the time I apparatted here."

"So that's why you were so bloody worried about the floo system," he muttered. "And it never occurred to you to use your wand during any of this?"

"It was in my room," she snapped, feeling slightly offended now that he was questioning her, hinting towards the idea that she might be dim. "I had to first get to it."

"Fuck," he said, sounding more frustrated than anything. The man paced the room twice before stopping in front of her. "Can I do anything about that?"

"Hmm?"

"The bruises."

"Oh," Hermione said, rubbing her neck again, "Not really. There are no potions out there to do anything about bruises. I'll live, but I might take a pain reliever tonight if my neck is still stiff. That's about all that can be done."

"Right," Draco said, falling into the seat beside her. "And he didn't do anything else to you?"

"No."

There was a pause for a moment, during which time Draco turned something over in his mind. "Didn't you say that you hit him in the head with a paperweight? How the hell did that man get back up to follow you?"

"I don't know," she replied, fidgeting. "That's bothering me, really. He didn't even bleed when I hit him. I may as well have punched him, and it would have the same affect. But that paperweight was pretty damn heavy, and it could've killed him. Yet… nothing happened."

Draco nodded, thinking about what she said. He was no Healer, but nothing sounded right about this situation. Humans bled during circumstances like that, no matter what. But the blonde was slowly getting the feeling that Adam was far from human.

Hermione said something, and he shook himself out of his daze. "What did you say?"

Glancing at him, she frowned. "I asked if you're any good with potions."

He scoffed. "Hermione, that's the only class I ever beat you in at school. I may as well be a _master_ at potions."

"Right," she said, rolling her eyes at his arrogance, "So long as you're decent, I'll take you."

"What are you talking about?"

Standing, she walked in a small circle. "Remember, we were reading up on Dragon blood? I think that in order to reverse the affects that the bite has had on your son, we must first make a potion. We can't just feed the child blood- that's a bit redundant. Besides, if the right ingredients are mixed in we might even be able to repair some of the damage done to him physically, not just the nature of his mind."

Despite liking her idea, Draco raised an eyebrow. "After almost being choked to death, that's what you're thinking about?"

"Well, of course! I'm not going to let that damn run-in scare the hell out of me. Besides, he said he's already tried to get in here, and failed. I'm going to guess it has something to do with that _"ancient-magic-and-wards"_ rubbish. Still though, I don't get how he got past my own."

Shrugging the man stood and grabbed Hermione's bag. "Well, when you file a report on getting your home broken into and almost killed, you can ask him when he's arrested. Until then Hermione, don't stress over it too much. There's way too much about this situation that we simply don't understand."

Pressing her lips together, the woman followed him from the room. If anyone asked her, there was too much going on. Somehow, everything had to tie together, though she wasn't sure how yet.

There were far too many loose ends, and Hermione intended to figure out where they all connected to.

* * *

Astoria sat there in the apartment alone, nervously looking right then left every few seconds. Adam was quite unpleasant yesterday when Percy Weasley left, and this morning he wasn't any better before he left. The man that was so kind and took her home was not the small man that she now lived with. There was something very, very wrong with Adam.

And she wanted to know what it was. He kept her out of his closet, often hitting her if she got too close. But he was out again, and she assumed that he wouldn't be back for quite a while. Sure, he had already been gone an hour, but she assumed he would be gone a bit longer. Or at least, she hoped.

And she really wanted to know what hid in that god-forsaken closet of his. What could he be so scared of her finding out when she dealt with his peculiar behavior on a day-to-day basis? Swallowing the lump in her throat, she decided she was curious enough to snoop around and jumped off the couch, padded down the hall to the bedroom they sometimes shared, and walked in.

Adam's closet was enormous, covering the expanse of one wall. Taking a breath, she paused outside the doors, wondering what he could be hiding in there. Gripping the handle, she threw one of the doors open, prepared to be alarmed.

Nothing was there. Opening the various bins, she discovered that it was nothing more than clothing. Feeling unsure about her search now she hurried over to the next one and threw the door open again, once again locating nothing.

_Strange. He's protective of shirts? _

Moving to the third bit of doors on the large wall, she threw them open, suddenly thinking that there was nothing interesting to discover there at all. How wrong she was.

Astoria shrieked when the first one tumbled out, having been perched up on the top shelf. Two more followed suit, hitting the carpet soundlessly. But none of that mattered, not when all she could focus on was the collection of them at the bottom of the closet.

Shrinking to the floor, she counted them in her panic. Nine- there were _nine._

_Oh Merlin…_

Sitting there on the floor of the closet, coupled amongst shoes like nothing out of the ordinary, sat five skulls, five human skulls. She could feel herself hyperventilating as she sat there. On the top shelf sat one more, plus the three that had tumbled out.

_Nine human skulls hiding amongst his clothing? But… but why? Why would Adam need this!?_

_Why would Adam have this…_

* * *

**A/n:** Hope you liked it! Sorry that there was no kiss scene like so many of you want, but it's coming. I just ran out of room in this chapter! Next one for sure darlings :)

For anyone that is into forums, check out The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition! I'm actually in this forum. It's quite large, and we need a certain amount of members to start the competition! It's a team's thing, based off of Quidditch teams and the positions! Confused? Interested? Check it out! Once all positions are full the forum game will begin! You can even be on the team I'm on if you want, if you want to be captain :)

forum/The-Quidditch-League-Fanfiction-Competition/ 134505/


	25. The Line

**A/n:** I quite like this chapter. Thanks again to my beta(s) **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Line**

"Well, what did the Ministry say?" Draco asked later. Hermione had gone to report the incident with Adam, and if it got overlooked he was probably going to lose his mind. Nothing about the situation was okay.

"They're going to arrest him the next time they see him," she replied sitting beside him. The woman had been back at the Manor for ages now, but it took time to find the blonde. She never thought he would be sitting in the library of all places, until she saw what he was reading. Of course he would be in there to try and help his son. "They seemed a bit alarmed when I told them who it was though."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "They just kept making me describe him, to make absolutely sure it was Adam Lincoln, the one I actually saw. They didn't seem to want to admit to who it was."

The man looked up giving her a strange look. "Sounds a bit unorthodox."

"Everything about the situation is unorthodox," she reminded, taking a seat at the table with him. "Adam's reaction, the fact that he was in my house, nothing really fits together with this."

"I agree," he said, continuing to scan the contents of the book. When he didn't say anything else, she nudged him with her foot. "Yes?"

"Could we perhaps try a lesson?" she asked, brushing her hair back. When he glanced her way and only gave her a blank look, she rolled her eyes. "You know, with blocking my thoughts. I want to be prepared."

"I see. Would this have something to do with a shower incident?"

Her cheeks colored. "What do you know about that?! I didn't-"

"Relax," the blonde said, eyeing her oddly, "You haven't even explained that situation yet. But I wouldn't oppose to hearing about it- you've been rather skittish about the entire ordeal."

"There's a reason for that," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "I don't want to discuss that right now Draco. Could we please just practice? You've been doing research for hours, and you must need a break. This will still be productive at least."

Dropping the topic for the moment, Malfoy nodded. "Fine, if you insist. Better that you practice I suppose."

"Exactly," she agreed, moving to sit directly in front of him. Hopefully, there would be some progress this time.

* * *

Astoria was thankful that Adam didn't return home at his usual time. Pacing the apartment several times, she dreaded going back into that bedroom. Why he was harboring skulls escaped her, but she knew this wasn't a normal habit. Most people didn't collect body parts, and all the stories she ever heard about people collecting heads were grotesque and caused her stomach to roll. Too many possibilities had already passed through her mind, each one more ridiculous than the last.

She simply couldn't comprehend why he had them. Did he plan to kill her and add her to the collection? Were these past lovers? Past enemies? The woman couldn't figure it out, and with each new minute her paranoia grew. She'd been hesitant around Adam for a while now, and now she had a reason to be. The idea of him returning that night was positively dreadful.

_Just floo him. You've seen Adam do it. Get the connection through! Wasn't he in here just the other day asking about Adam, prying for answers? Tell him, and maybe you can get out of his wretched home without being added to the pile of skulls. _

Doing this paranoid the woman, and as she crawled across the living room to sit in front of the floo she felt her stomach lurch. This was a bad idea, a terribly bad idea, and yet she couldn't think of anything else to do. Right after discovering the skulls, she also discovered that Adam kept the apartment warded. Never before had she attempted to leave, and now she realized she couldn't.

His floo system was well-guarded as well. She knew that most networks were closed off, and only Lincoln could open them up. That left her with very few options on how leave, much less communicate. But she knew _his _floo network was connected to this one, and she intended to use that to her advantage.

Calling out his name, she waited anxiously by the dull flames to see if he would answer her call. Moments later, a face appeared in the flames. "Astoria?"

"Hello Percy," she said, glancing around the apartment as though she expected Adam to leap from the shadows. "How are you?"

"Erm, I'm fine? Is there a reason you're calling me?"

She nodded once, considering how to word this. She didn't want to alarm him, but she didn't want him wondering why she needed help either. He needed to know exactly what she had discovered. "I need to get out of here."

On the other side of the connection, Percy let his eyebrows draw together. He visited this woman only a day or so ago, and back then she was going on about how she couldn't recall the last time she left the apartment, and now she was concerned about getting out of the place? He didn't really understand.

"Okay. Couldn't Adam-"

"No! I mean, he's not here right now and I… I don't want to be a burden. But Percy, I really do need to leave. Could I come over?"

The ginger wasn't sure how he felt about this. Astoria seemed very afraid of staying around the place, but he had to remind himself that she willingly chose to stay there in the first place. That wasn't his fault, right?

_Right. So I don't owe her anything. Why should I take her out anyway? Adam never leaves that woman alone long, and he's sure to return soon._

_But then, the Minister did want me to look into things…_

Percy recalled the conversation he had with his boss only a day or so ago, and remembered how concerned the man seemed. And now Astoria Greengrass was worried about something as well? Personally, he didn't like Lincoln much to begin with, but he didn't honestly understand his boss' concern. Adam was supposed to be on their side, right?

Yet if he got Astoria to come over and got her to the Ministry, then he might be able to get his boss to reveal more about whatever he was thinking. Percy still wasn't entirely sure what the Minister was aiming for, just that he didn't seem completely certain about Adam's loyalty. And truth be told, Percy wasn't so sure about it either.

"You can come over for a bit," he said, brushing his hair away from his eyes, "But not for too long. Adam would miss you if you stay away long, and we don't want to cause him to worry."

Briefly, Astoria shut her eyes. For a moment, he wasn't sure she was going to continue the conversation. "Sure, I'll be over in just a second. Let me grab my shoes."

"If you must."

On her side, the woman stood up and ran away into the bedroom. Grabbing the first set of shoes she saw and threw them on, before snatching up a bag and throwing anything semi-useful into it. She had no intention of returning tonight or any other night, but Percy didn't need to know that, not yet.

_I just need to get to the Ministry to file a report. Then I won't have to worry about Adam following me… if he bothers._

But it didn't matter if he actually planned to follow her, she just didn't want to find out. Hurrying back to the living room, she shrank her bag and placed it into her pocket. If she could help it, she was never returning.

* * *

Hermione awoke later feeling disoriented. From what she could remember, her training with Malfoy went decently well, even if her Occlumency skills were still pretty weak. She had to start somewhere. Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and finally realized where she was.

She was in bed with Draco- which wasn't anything new, expect of the fact that she had been sleeping against him, her body half on his. Startled, she jumped away and accidently off the side of the bed, landing with an 'oof' on the floor. Her sudden movement awoke the blonde who immediately peered over the side of the bed at her.

"Something wrong Hermione?" He was cocky, and he had reason to be. Draco knew how they fell asleep earlier after practice, and knew he would be lying if he said he didn't like it.

"Nothing," she replied, standing up. He was smirking a bit too much, and she knew that meant that he probably knew she had been laying on him. Why else would he grin like that? "I just thought the ground would be more comfortable."

"Sure you did," he said, rolling his own eyes. She moved away from the bed to untangle her hair, straightening out her clothing as she went. They had never changed. "Will you come back now?"

"Hardly," she scoffed. "I mean, I should probably check on your son since we-"

"You did that halfway through the session, remember? You already put up the spells to alert you if anything changes. Stop blushing and come back to bed."

Wandering around the piece of furniture to climb in as far from Draco as possible, Hermione slipped under the sheets. He rolled his eyes at the action, considering that he lay atop all the covers. It didn't cause her to move however.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed."

"I am not embarrassed!"

"Don't lie," he said, rolling closer to her so that they were side by side. "Your cheeks give you away Granger; they're so very red."

"Yes well, that could be from falling off the bed as well!"

"Ah, but I think you fell on your arse, not your head. We'd be having a completely different talk if that were the case."

"Shut up."

"I don't think I will," he replied, edging closer.

Hermione glanced up at him again when she felt his body pressing close to hers, peering up into deep grey eyes. He wasn't completely covering her as expected, but instead simply sat bent over her, as though studying her.

"Personal space really isn't your thing, is it?"

He grinned. "Not lately, no."

Silence set in. Never before had Hermione been in such close proximity with the blonde, and against her better judgment she took a moment to truly study his features; the way his strong jaw and high cheekbones stood out against heavy lidded eyes. Those were eyes that she spent more than enough time staring into. Traveling down his face, she noted his perfectly sized nose, and eventually fell to his lips.

They looked soft, inviting, and _oh so_ tempting. Pursing her own, she glanced up and noticed that he was watching her study him. Yet surprisingly, she wasn't embarrassed by the fact. Holding his gaze a moment, she only had a second to register what was happening as he bent down and pressed his lips gently to hers.

Shocked, Hermione didn't know how to react at first. But quickly she melted into the feeling, letting her arms slip in around his back. There weren't any butterflies in her stomach surprisingly, and she didn't feel her spirit lifting up at the contact- there was nothing overly-romantic happening in her mind as he kissed her. All she knew was that he tasted fantastic, and that she really wasn't thinking much further than that.

The fact that he was sinking into a laying position half-on her escaped her mind as the kiss deepened. It had been a long time since she kissed someone and felt anything electrifying, but this kiss broke down all her expectations from before. Previous boyfriends didn't amount to the feelings suddenly forming in her chest, shooting down to her toes as his tongue slipped into her mouth, and she gripped him tighter as the kiss deepened.

And Hermione completely forgot what she was doing. She let herself get lost in the motion of kissing the beautiful man lying on top of her, one of her hands moving to grip his hair. His right hand moved down, tracing patterns on her hip where her skin was exposed due to her shirt. And she didn't protest when he dared to let his hand slip beneath the fabric, trailing up her body to her chest. Neither of them was really sure where this was going, nor how long they planned to play, but they didn't want to stop. And they probably wouldn't have, if not for the howl.

They jumped apart as a predatory cry broke through the silence of night, breathing hard as they looked at each other. The noise carried and echoed through a cracked window, vibrating around in their heads. It was a pained, angry sound; a cry of a human.

Draco's expression darkened and the pieces of the puzzle clicked together in his head, Hermione realizing the same thing half a second later, her head still buzzing after the wonderful kisses. "_Crabbe_!"

"Why would he make that noise?" Hermione asked, certain the man was right. Their blissful moment was gone, torn apart by an unearthly noise.

"I don't know," he seethed, getting up to pace the room. "My son- that probably woke him."

"We should go check on him," the woman said, straightening herself out as she stood as well. Her lips felt puffy, and she knew it was an aftereffect of the kissing. Thankfully, Malfoy's son was too young to understand what her puffy lips entailed. "He might be frightened."

"Maybe," Draco said, tyring to put his thoughts in order. This was all wrong! He should be relishing in the aftermath of the kiss- possibly kissing that woman again- not concerning himself with a fucking _vampire_ hanging around on _his _land, letting out outlandish cries in the middle of the bloody night. What even brought that on? He'd never heard such a cry before.

Hermione bolted out of the room still straightening her hair, and he followed a second later only to slow his steps and narrow his eyes. He'd _never_ heard a sound like that before in all the years he lived in the Manor, and yet tonight of all nights he heard something that sounded both pained and angry? And it was so very _convenient _that it happened during the same moments he was kissing the brunette in front of him, just when things were beginning to get hot and heavy.

Coincidence? He wasn't thinking so now as he continued on to Scorpius' room. He had a feeling this wasn't just by chance that it happened then, but rather that Crabbe- who else would make a noise like that out there? No one else even spoke to them!- somehow knew he was kissing Hermione! It sounded completely ridiculous even in his mind, but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was the truth. Things were aligned to perfectly to not be connected.

Quickening his pace, he entered the room just as Hermione wrapped her arms around his son, the child's long nails digging into her flesh. It was a strange sight to see, considering how distant he knew the two were despite the countless hours they spent interacting with one another. Yet his son looked comforted by the woman's embrace, and he smiled softly at the sight. He rarely saw Hermione engaging in physical, honest contact with his son, for she was so very uncomfortable with children, but whenever something serious happened she was there in a heartbeat for Scorpius, something his mother had never done.

He stepped closer, rubbing his son's back. For a brief moent he looked up and met Hermione's eyes, picking out the confusion mirrored there that he felt within himself. Part of him wanted to lean closer and kiss her puffy lips again, but that couldn't be done. Not in that moment; his son was present, and there was something strange happening around them. He wondered when he started becoming a stranger to the world outside of his childhood home, now unable to place the sounds in the woods.

He knew it was Crabbe- it had to be- he just wasn't sure why. But it had to be connected to the brunette sitting on the bed, and he had a bad feeling it might have something to do with the bite.

From her position there before him, his son's head buried against her chest, she mouthed a single question, her eyes searching his now, as though she could pick out his thoughts on the subject that way. _What was that?_

* * *

For Percy, it was extremely uncomfortable to be housing Astoria. She refused to go back to Adam's, and after several failed attempts he agreed to take her to the Ministry in the morning. The story with the _skulls_ housed in Adam's closet seemed important enough to report now, but the Minister would be at home asleep and the emergency line shouldn't be used unless someone was dying or being kidnapped. So the news would have to wait until morning, and until then he had Malfoy's former wife sleeping in the cramped spare bedroom of his apartment.

It could be worse, he supposed. She could be ugly. Or, she could be lying. The latter concerned him far more than the impossible first. But mostly, he was concerned about Adam.

He did _not_ want that man showing up looking for her. First of all, he didn't know a thing about fighting off creatures of the night, and furthermore, he wasn't quite sure what he would say if the situation came up. Percy didn't really think he would be kind if he mentioned the skulls in his closest, the suspicions from the Ministry or Astoria's sudden- but understandable- desire to get as far away from the place as possible.

He wasn't really sure what to do about anything. He very well knew she was already asleep, sitting comfortably on her bed, though even in her sleep the woman appeared uneasy. As for himself, Percy was left to sit in his bedroom, pondering over the same things again and again. At least he only had to watch this woman for one day, and then she would become someone else's responsibility.

From the depths of his mind, he recalled his brother, Ron mentioning that Hermione was working as a Healer at Malfoy Manor to help the man's poor child. Wasn't Astoria the mother? Although the relationship between parents couldn't be a good one, he thought that Malfoy might at least be interested as to where his old wife got to. After a bit of contemplation, Percy settled on sending a letter to Ron and leaving him to decide whether or not to owl Hermione about Astoria's whereabouts, who in turn would obviously inform Draco.

If only he knew of the presence slipping past his wards into the room down the hall, eyes locked on the stiff woman in bed. If he only paid a bit more attention while writing his note, things may have been different.

* * *

Once Scorpius was calm again, Draco left Hermione and his son to wander the Manor. His original intention was to walk and think while she told the boy some strange muggle story about flying children and lost boys, but he quickly became preoccupied with the abundance of things on his mind.

He had kissed Hermione, and that was fucking fantastic! By all rights, he planned to do it again very soon, just so long as another ungodly cry didn't peirce the night.

That brought him to point to. If the unknown person- whom he had labeled to be Crabbe- cried out at the exact moment he was going to touch her, that meant there was a connection, right? But how, and through what? The bite? Telepathy? Mind reading? He wasn't sure, but he didn't like it one bit.

His musings brought him out onto one of the many balconies the Manor had to offer. It was bitter out, but a quick warming charm and a spell to remove snow from one of the chairs and he was set. Sitting down, he attempted to make sense of the emotions coursing through his body. Hopefully, his son would be asleep when he returned and he could resume kissing that woman.

"Mighty cold out to be relaxing outside, isn't it, Mr. Malfoy?"

Startled, he jumped up, reaching for a wand that wasn't there. He cursed beneath his breath, having forgotten the item back in his room after he finished kissing Granger. Peering out over the balcony, he noticed a woman standing in the moonlight, her arms crossed over her chest. There was quite a bit of distance between them, and he realized she had to be speaking quite loudly for him to hear her.

"What's it to you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes as he gripped the edges of the balcony. Peering out, he noticed the woman's startling red hair. "You're that woman… Sarafene. The one that Crabbe occasionally talks about."

"Well done," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, though he couldn't see the action, "Must've been hard to figure out, considering I'm the only female in these woods!"

Draco didn't respond to that, for he felt he didn't need to. What would it matter anyway? "Is there something I can help you with, or will you just be on your way? I didn't come out here to be bothered by the likes of you."

"We rarely go places to be bothered, yet bothersome people have a tendency of finding us when we seek silence," she mused, seemingly unfazed by his irritation. "I am no exception to that."

"Fine," he huffed, turning on his heel, "Then I'm going inside."

"You're so quick to leave a conversation!" she called. "I would expect you to be a bit more excited by this conversation, considering how much I despise humans. The fact that I'm gracing you with my presence should be considered a great honor."

Draco scoffed, her words reminding him of himself at a younger age, when he was cockier and felt that the world owed him a lot. He learned later on that the world owed him nothing, and his overdone demure shark down a bit, though he remained a cheeky bastard. Sarafene however didn't seem to be searching for modesty with the way she spoke.

"An honor for what? I didn't request an audience with you."

"Perhaps not, but I did hear word from Crabbe that you were looking for answers once upon a time, and he did question me at one point about matters that seemed a bit uncharacteristic for him to ponder about. I suppose they related to your prior questions?"

"Perhaps," the blonde replied, not seeing a point as to ask which time she was asking about. They had asked Crabbe about several things of late, and it would be a waste of time to question her on such matters now. "Why are you here? Are you lurking around the perimeter, happened to see me come out, and decided to be a bother? You may as well continue to lurk; I have nothing to say to you."

"It's not so much what you have to say to me, so much as what I have to say to you."

"Is it now? And what would you possibly have to say to me that you haven't already? You just said you despise humans, so why would you come to talk to me?"

She shrugged, and her distant silhouette in the moonlight barely let Draco see the action. "I have my reasons. Something has come to my attention recently that cannot be overlooked, something I thought I might indulge you in."

"Yes," he sneered, "And what would that be? I must say I'm eager to hear, considering how frightfully helpful you've been thus far."

Once more rolling her eyes, the woman chose to ignore his venomous tone. "I was not going to dabble in the affairs of your son, Draco Malfoy, for it is something that is not of my understanding. It's a matter I have seen, but never one that I have seen halted. Since meeting you and hearing of your goal, I've assumed you to be a lost cause."

He wasn't feeling any better about this conversation.

"But an event only minutes ago drew my attention. It's something I have overlooked for some time, for it is something that is not supposed to be done any longer by my kind. Yet, some of us continue to partake in the action."

"What are you going on about?" he snapped, his patience wearing thin. He was getting chilly, and he didn't want to spend any more time out there listening to her babble.

Sarafene sighed. "It's about Crabbe. He bit the woman in your house, he marked-"

"And you're just now realizing that?!" he seethed. "A bit out of the loop, aren't we?"

"Don't be hasty Mr. Malfoy, I have known about the bite for a long time- since it happened." His eyes widened at that, and with her heightened vision she could see the action even from very far away. But before he could say anything, she continued on speaking over whatever his comment would've been. "At first I did not concern myself with the bite, for I bit you once-"

"What!?"

"Don't be so alarmed," she said, once more unfazed by his reactions. "I was hungry, and you were nearby, it's as simple as that. This happened before you re-enhanced your wards, when I could still walk closer to the house. Until recently, I thought that Crabbe bit your woman for different reasons."

"She's not really mine," he said, unsettled by the phrase Sarafene continued substituting for Hermione's real name. He reminded himself that she was an ancient vampire, born centuries before and that she probably thought differently, but it did nothing to change his opinion on the phrase; it had a demeaning touch to it.

"But she is," the woman replied, moving to place her hands on her hips now. "That was proven tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"The bite," she began squaring her shoulders, "There is a particular bite we as vampires can administer when finding a victim. Instead of taking blood to satisfy our hunger, we replace the sucking motion with a passing motion. Instead of taking something, we in exchange give. By using the venom in our teeth and injecting it into our chosen person, we create a bond. Often, it's used for possession. Crabbe either wanted her, or wanted to use her."

He didn't like where this conversation was headed. "And this involves me how?"

"Usually, the only people that are given the venom are people we seek to mate. It's a tradition started centuries ago, and it was carried out until about a hundred years ago when we made an allegiance with the World Ministry. Sections of the magical ministries around the world monitor us, and in exchange we are offered a generous- though unneeded- veil of protection, so long as we comply with the standards set before us. When the alliance was made, one of the agreements was that this type of possession would become illegal. It's a rather nasty way to obtain a person, and literally the vampire can control a person if they can get a hold of their mind enough. Just yesterday I spoke with Vincent, and he mentioned a rather peculiar scene involving Hermione Granger and a bathroom incident. I am not sure whether or not this particular incident has been told to you yet, but it is not my place to say, and stays off topic from my original point."

"What is your point?" he asked, beginning to become confused.

"The possessive bind only lasts for so long. The natural acids in your brain will eat away at the venom and remove the connection, meaning that it will either have to be re-established through another bite or lost entirely. It is often used, as I said, as a means of wanting someone, and cleverly convincing them to want you as well. It's mind manipulation really, and even if you were once repulsed by this person in question the mortal will find themselves head-over-heels for the vampire. If this happens, there is usually no escaping the bond and whenever- if ever- the person returns to their true state of mind, they will find themselves bond to a vampire until death. It's a nasty way to get someone, but not all of my kind are above that kind of thing, and Crabbe is no different."

"Okay? So… she's still possibly going to fall into fake love with Vincent and someday wake up in a nightmare? Is that what you're telling me?"

"No," the woman said, smiling lightly, "It's not actually. You see, the connection was broken tonight. If another person can get in the way and draw the chosen person's eye away from the vampire, the spell weakens and will not strengthen unless bitten again. You must've had some serious form of contact with her tonight, for Crabbe felt the connection literally break. His control over Hermione Granger is diminishing as we speak."

"Because of me?"

"Because her attention became focused somewhere else. And her attraction to you outweighed her pull towards Crabbe. He's none too happy."

Draco blinked, processing the information as best he could along with everything else he was taking in. "So that cry earlier-"

"That would be him. I recognized the anguished cry anywhere. Whether you had caught on yet or not, he was quite smitten with her. And he's very unhappy that you're pulling her away from him."

"That's how you knew something was amiss?"

"No silly," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder in the moonlight, "That's how I knew something was wrong."

Narrowing his eyes, he leaned forward over the balcony, peering out at the woman so far away from him, this mortal hating woman who was feeding him information about Crabbe all because of… a mistake? "And that prompted you to tell me."

"Yes," she said, her eyes darkening, though she knew he couldn't see it. "You do not understand Mr. Malfoy, this is a great offense and danger to my people. We are only left alone if we comply with your godforsaken rules the Ministry has in place, and if someone learns that Vincent Crabbe crossed those lines to obtain a human girl, and then problems will arise. For you see Draco Malfoy, there are simply some rules that you do not step over. And Crabbe made the mistake of stepping over many."

* * *

**A/n: **Chapter 25! It's been taking a bit I know, but I'm up in Colorado near all the fires and I've been helping friends and family, especially the few that lost their homes. On top of that, I had a dance recital that covered over five days- practices included- and it took a lot out of me. So I'm not going to promise speedy posts at the moment but I will promise that they won't stop!

What did you think of this chapter? Let me know!


	26. The Disbelief

**A/n: **Thanks again to my two excellent betas **JDeppIsMyLovely **and **Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited.

**Warning:** Character death. You've been warned.

* * *

**The Disbelief**

Draco was quick to go locate Hermione after his conversation with Sarafene. Now he knew where his bite mark came from at least, but the woman was unable to tell him who bit his son. No one came forward yet, and she told him that she doubted anyone would. He was better off on focusing how to change his son back than who bit him in the girl's opinion. But that didn't mean he was going to stop trying.

Re-accounting everything to her was strange. For a while she looked just as lost as he had felt, until he began to really explain her bite, and things finally connected for her. Thankfully his son was asleep again and that gave them the much needed peace to have the conversation.

"I can't believe he was trying to do something so horrid to me!" she fumed once they were out in the hallway. "It's perverted, it's wrong, and it's creepy. Thank Merlin those wards are so damn strong or we could've had a real problem on our hands!"

"We already have a problem," he reminded darkly, leaning against the wall. "Our affections towards each other might've diminished part of his power over you but we don't know if the connection is thoroughly broken or simply hindered."

She rubbed her lip thoughtfully, peering at him. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. Sarafene thinks it's completely broken, but I'm not so sure. Besides, that cry sounded quite angry. He might not have a hold over you physically right now but that doesn't mean he won't be able to develop one again, and that's what worries me. He's probably going to try and attack your mind as it is."

Her expression darkened. "I can't keep him out of my mind yet."

"Not yet, but the point is your shielding ability has grown. You can attempt to force him out at the very least."

"And what if I can't? Ugh, this is so complicated! There's always something, isn't there?"

Smiling softly at the woman's frustration as he began pacing, he stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her quickly before she could step away. "Then I'll have to handle it later. Panicking about it won't help us right now; I won't give another lesson until you've rested, for it won't do any good to tire you out."

She nodded once, unaccustomed to having him hug her at all- let alone like that. Whether it was for her comfort or his she wasn't sure, but she wouldn't argue with it at the moment.

"You never told me."

"I never told you what?" she asked, sitting in bed later. Scorpius was all checked out and passed out again, his vampire side draining him more and more each day. Draco was antsy to start working on a potion, and did so for a few hours before returning to the bedroom. It was early morning now, and they were finally ready to sleep. Hurray for backwards sleeping.

"About the shower incident," he replied, yawning as he sat beside her, "or the bathroom, or whatever it was. And people keep bringing it up."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, it's way too late to be getting into things like that."

"You're no fun," he pouted. "You keep avoiding the topic."

"With good reason!" she remarked hotly, flipping her hair. "It's private."

"It's important. Obviously something huge must've happened, so why not indulge me?"

"I don't want to," she said, rolling her eyes. "Can we talk about something else?"

"No," he replied, scooting closer. "You can tell me though."

"Why should I?"

"Because it might help."

"Or it might embarrass the hell out of me."

"Either or," he replied cheekily, thankful that a few pleasures in life still made him smile. "Come on Hermione, tell me."

She looked away a moment, apparently considering the offer. Then she turned back, blushing as she leaned over and whispered into his ear. Immediately, his eyebrows shot up, and he pulled back with an angry expression on his face.

"What?!"

"Do you see why I didn't want to tell you?" she asked, sighing even as he shook his head. "It's not something I'm proud of."

Draco huffed. "Hermione, I don't get you; you're embarrassed over something you couldn't control, and you're not angry? Sometimes I don't understand what goes on in your bloody head."

Despite everything, she couldn't help lightly smiling at that. Hermione expected his reaction to be worse, for him to curse and be angry, but he was rather diluted. There was the possibility that he was keeping his thoughts inside, but she wasn't sure. Part of her was thankful there was no blowout over the topic, yet the rest of her was a bit disheartened that he didn't have anything more than a witty comment past his initial reaction.

"Yes, silly me."

"Don't overthink it," he said, nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck. "You'll only stay up with a headache, and its late already Hermione. We must sleep."

"This from the man who a few minutes ago wanted to stay up and ponder the potion."

"At least something would come out of my idea," he said tiredly, stifling a yawn. "Now lay with me. I can't keep my eyes open any longer."

She smiled again, scooting down in the bed so they were lying together. The par readjusted, Hermione finding herself resting against his chest; it wasn't common, but it also wasn't unwanted. And it was in that position that they finally passed out.

* * *

It was the anguished scream that alerted him something was wrong. The cry probably awoke several other occupants on the floor, and he wouldn't be surprised if more than one called about a disturbance. But it wouldn't matter now though, not with the mess he would find.

Percy had been completely comfortable at his desk, relaxing and looking through things, trying to clear his mind. But the cry down the hall stopped his train of thought, drawing him out of his world of thoughts and into the reality around him; a reality he didn't want to face.

The wizard bolted down the hall to see what was wrong. Wand in hand, he could feel the dread seeping in from the very moment the cry broke out. Something was terribly wrong; although he had strong wards, he knew they weren't invincible. Now that he was housing someone like Astoria, he should've reinforced them. He should've done something to protect his quaint apartment as soon as the woman declared she wasn't leaving. But he was a fool, and he did nothing.

Breaking through the door to her room, he immediately felt the shock hit him. Initially there was no break in the scream, no sound of the girl being attacked. But she only cried out once, and that should've been his first warning in the scarce seconds following. He should've know something was wrong, and he should've been prepared.

It had to be Adam's doing, it had to be. Who else would do it? Falling to his knees, he felt his breath come in shallows gasps as panic overtook him, his eyes bulging larger and larger as he stared at the scene.

Her body lay on the floor, blood oozing out. About a foot away her severed head rested on the bed, the torn appendix staring back at him, the terrified expression on the girls face captured forever in the final brief seconds of her life when Astoria had time to cry out, before her life was dashed away.

The blood pooled, and his heartbeat accelerated. The window was open, and he could feel his dread slipping in. What if the monster came back? Would he perish as well? Attempting to think through his horror, Percy stumbled back, turning on the light as he searched frantically for the killer. Sweeping his eyes across the space quickly, he found that no one was there.

_Get out of here now! Get on the emergency line; make a call. Don't let this fiend kill you too!_

Bolting out of the room, his mind set up hundreds of scenarios about what was going to happen on his dash to the floo. This really was an emergency now, one which he would alert the Ministry of ASAP. Astoria's sudden and unexplainable death warranted a lot of questions even in Percy's scattered mind, drawing up several similar questions. One in particular stuck out though as he reported what had happened in his home mere moments before.

Why kill her? What could she have known that was so dastardly that she had to die?

He couldn't believe she was dead. Earlier that morning she made a discovery and tried to get him to help her out, and now she was dead because of it. Why would Adam kill her? How did he even know?

The final answer was obvious, for Percy had been dealing with this issue for far too long now to ignore it. Shaking as the floo connection cut off with the promise of emergency Aurors coming in just moments, he fell on his bottom and tried to steady his breathing.

_Vampire. _Adam was a cold, cutthroat vampire, and apparently had no problem slaughtering humans when it fit his fancy. Vaguely, Adam wondered if the Minister even realized how twisted his vampire-informant honestly was, and if the information documented was honest at all. Adam didn't seem like such a trustworthy, believable person anymore.

* * *

Hermione awoke last the following day. By the time she was physically able to drag herself from the bed sheets, she found that it was nearly noon and the place beside her was cold. It didn't take long to locate both the Malfoy's in a room near Scorpius', a cauldron placed between them.

"This will help?" the child asked, watching his father intently. The poor thing was relaxed into a chair, a blanket scrunched in around him. Even at the early-day hour he looked exhausted, and Hermione felt her confidence in the child dwindle a bit at that. Each day, she witnessed it get worse. Scorpius got weak and tired very easily, his bedtime becoming earlier and earlier every few days. With each decline in his son's overall health, Draco's frustration grew. She knew for a fact that he blamed himself for the child's declining health, convinced that everything would be better if he could only figure out the correct potion to incorporate the Dragon blood with. Hermione wasn't so sure that was true, however. A potion might heal him physically, but she felt that the psychological effects would last for years to come. But she wouldn't tell him that, not when he was already so stressed.

"Yes," his father replied, ruffling the blonde's hair. "It's going to help you get better, okay? Once your better, Lizzy can return."

Scorpius' face brightened. "Can she come over today?"

"Not today," he said, inclining his head in Hermione's direction as he noticed her in the doorway, "We already have a visitor. And we don't want to hurt Lizzy, right? So I have to make you all better first."

The child paused as the brunette swooped in, moving to stand beside Draco and wrap an arm around him. "She's not a guest daddy, she's new mommy."

Startled, Hermione quickly retracted her arm. Although the notion of being called "mommy" was endearing, she didn't want to cross into that territory when she had kissed the boy's father for the first time yesterday. Of course Scorpius didn't know any of that, but that didn't mean things weren't uncomfortable. Astoria was still the mother, and until the basic idea of a relationship was even discussed she didn't want to go around having this child call her mommy.

"I'm you're daddy's friend," she corrected, smiling down at the boy. He didn't look nearly as pleased with her response, but didn't argue the matter. Shooting Draco a look, she wondered if she should've just left the topic alone right then. Astoria did seem to be a sensitive subject towards the elder Malfoy was it was.

He leaned over as Scorpius busied himself with inspecting the complicated books and ingredients again, breathing into her ear, "I need a moment, Hermione. I'm losing my bloody mind in here getting nowhere, and I don't particularly want to curse in front of my son when I'm just trying to help him. Mind watching him for a moment while I blow off some stream?"

Pulling away from him to raise an eyebrow, she noted that he did look quite frazzled. It was good that he wanted to get the potion done as soon as possible, but stressing himself out for too long wouldn't help anyone. Nodding once as she smiled, the blonde thanked her and he disappeared from the room, telling his son he needed to use the loo.

Left alone with Scorpius, she found herself studying the books more than the child. Several quick glances got a few things from her regular check-list marked off, but she didn't specifically want to speak with the child. Although she was more comfortable with him than ever before, she still didn't think she was all that gifted with speaking to children.

"Why won't you be my mommy?" he asked after only a minute or two of his father being out of the room. "I thought you liked me."

Arching an eyebrow, she gave Scorpius a bemused smile. "And who said I didn't? But don't you think your real mommy will be upset? You don't want to hurt her feelings, do you?"

Looking away, she could see the guilty look creeping onto the child's face. "Yes."

"Then maybe we should ask her how she feels next time about me being your other mommy," the brunette said, flipping a page in the book before her. "Sound good?"

"Yes," the child agreed, already happy. She was about to make another remark when she suddenly buckled over, gripping the sides of the table as her head exploded.

_Hello, Princess._

Fuck.

"_Get out of my head. I have nothing more to say to you, so just forget your reason for bothering me this time. I refuse to listen!"_

_As if you're strong enough to actually block me yet Hermione. However, today you should-_

"_Save it, I don't have the time to handle you. Bother someone else for a change."_

_Darling, I intend to bother you. Like it or not, you've only enlarged my fury. But that is not the reason I have come to bother your head._

"_I don't care about your reasons. Take you, your possessive attitude, and your fury and bother someone else. If my kisses from yesterday didn't get the point across then I'll just have to kiss Draco again and make sure you get the picture!"_

_Oh, Princess, I doubt you will be kissing Malfoy any time tonight. You're still going to be mine my darling. _

"_As if."_

_We're straying off topic Princess. I am not here to be a complete arsehole for once. I only bring with me a burden of bad news._

"_You are bad news."_

"Mrs. Herme-one?"

_The child's trying to get your attention dear. And don't be cocky, I'm still going to get you. But you're better off right now trying to get that kid to believe you're his real mommy than to deny being a mommy at all._

"_What are you-"_

She cut herself off as the door flew open and Draco stormed in, his face whiter than a sheet. "We have to go, now."

"Go? Why, what's-"

"Hermione, we have to go!" he cried, ignoring the tears on her cheeks just then. She hadn't realized beforehand that her eyes were leaking from concentration, and quickly whipped the streaks away as he turned to his son. "I'm calling Uncle Blaise, okay? He's going to come watch you."

"I want to come, daddy!"

"You can't!" he barked, causing his son to shrink back in the chair, and the brunette sent him a strange look. "Scorp, I can't have you coming along right now, okay? Please just stay here; I'm going to call your Uncle to come over."

"Can Lizzy come?"

"Maybe later."

"But-"

"Why don't we go get you changed and let your dad call your uncle?" Hermione said, entering the conversation. Draco looked stressed, and the constant questions from his young son didn't seem to be helping. She decided to step in before he lost his cool. "We'll get you dressed and then I'll pull out some of your toys for you to play with until he arrives, okay?"

Begrudgingly, the child agreed. As Hermione helped him down and took his hand, she sent a fleeting look back to Draco, who was already turning away from her to use the floo. But the expression in his eyes was clear as day.

He looked horrified. Hurrying his son from the room, she made quick work of helping him change and finding something comfortable for him to play in. Once he seemed settled, she excused herself and made to go find Draco.

Along the way she bumped into Zabini, who was apparently on his way to get Scorpius. His expression was grave.

"What's-"

"Don't ask me Hermione," he said, sighing. "You have to ask Draco. He's probably going to pour it all out to you anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Patting her on the shoulder, he brushed past her, the sad expression on his face never changing. "You'll see."

* * *

"Draco, slow down. You're working yourself up too much."

"Shut up!" he told her, storming through the Ministry, headed up to the Auror section. Originally he was told to go down to St. Mungo's, but was quickly corrected once there. She still didn't know what was actually plaguing his mind, for he wouldn't tell her. But he seemed incredibly distressed, and his skin grew paler every time she asked questions. At that point, she was just trying to make sure he didn't reach a breaking point and start cursing at everyone. That was her main fear by then.

At least Scorpius was safe at home, free of his father's hostile behavior. Although she knew he wouldn't actually do anything to the child, she wasn't so sure he could control his attitude either. Hurrying after him, her mind hopped around from scenario to scenario, trying to figure out just what had him in such an uproar.

Arriving at their destination, he threw the door open without missing a beat and stormed in. She followed, noticing that there were two men in the room who seemed to be discussing something, and waved apologetically in their direction for his rude entrance.

"Tell me it's not true!" he spat, walking right up to the desk and he slammed his hands down on the wood. "That emergency call, it's a fraud to get me down here for some reason, isn't it!?"

Hermione looked between the three men as Draco's statement hung in the air, searching for answers within their faces. Of the two men, there were a young and an old, with the elder sitting at the desk. His eyes locked for a single moment with her own, and she thought she saw pity there.

"No one would owl you such a thing if it wasn't true, Mr. Malfoy," the elder said, his voice weary. "You have come to me specifically because of the strange elements of this murder."

"She's not dead," he said, his voice dead-serious. "Astoria is a complete lunatic, but she wouldn't get so caught up in a situation that she would let herself die! She loves herself far too much to go anywhere dangerous."

Hermione processed that sentence slowly, fixating on the back of Draco's head. So that was the problem; his ex was dead. But how, and why? Questions pressed at her mind, attempting to explode, but she pressed her lips together and held her tongue, letting the blonde vent.

"Mr. Malfoy, I realize this is hard-"

"What the fuck am I supposed to tell my son?" he asked shaking with anger. "How do you tell a child that their mother's dead?! This is some sick joke!"

"I would not joke about this!" the elder man replied, standing now. "Watch your tongue in my office young man; you do not have power here. You were sent here to speak to me, and _speak_ to me you shall. Drop your voice, and take a seat. This yelling must stop."

Reaching forward, she lightly rested a hand on the blonde's shoulder, but he shoved her off. "I will do whatever I please! This is completely idiotic! Do you even hear…"

Hermione didn't hear what he said next, for her attention was drawn away by the younger fellow, the one stepping past Draco to her now. The blonde didn't even notice, too lost in his banter with the other man. Beckoning with his hand, the younger one indicated that she should follow him out. Looking at Draco though, she wondered if that was a good idea.

"They'll be at it for a while," he said quietly, and neither man even glanced back their way. "The news is hard, and the description didn't help matters."

"What description?" she asked, narrowing her eyes."

He inclined his head to the door. "Let him talk; you can be the shoulder to cry on later, Miss. I want to discuss something with you."

Although his words made sense, Hermione was hesitant to leave. Malfoy had a temper, and she didn't want him getting arrested for trying to hex answers out of someone. She had seen his protective streak come out whenever it involved his family, and although she knew he hadn't been fond of Astoria recently, she doubted he would want to hear that she was dead. The news was shocking to her, who barely knew the woman, and she couldn't fathom how Draco was taking it.

The screaming continued, but her ears had grown numb and she wasn't listening to the words. Slipping out the door for a moment wouldn't be the end of the world, and it would give them some time to actually start talking and quit arguing. Deciding to simply comply, she followed the younger man out of the office.

"What is it you want to discuss?" she asked once they had entered the hallway. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Quick to get to the point, aren't you Healer Hermione? Don't be alarmed, you're record perceives you up here in this department, considering that you have helped more than your fair share of the people we save on a day-to-day basis. I'm not sure we've ever personally met, however. My name is Chandler."

"Pleasure," she replied, raising an eyebrow. What did her job have to do with anything?

"I understand you've spent a lot of time at Malfoy Manor dealing with Mr. Malfoy's son," he continued, looking her straight in the eye. "Don't look surprised; there are a few of us up here who thoroughly understand the… implications of the case. Scorpius Malfoy was bitten by a vampire."

Her eyebrows shot up, and she looked around the hallway quickly to make sure no one else was around. "What?! How do-"

"How do I know? Don't play daft Miss Granger, the moment that Astoria Greengrass' body was located we were on the scene, and shortly after we attempted to contact Sarafene, one of the vampires that resides in the woods behind the Manor. We here at the Ministry know more than you would origionally suspect."

"So I've heard," she muttered, studying Chandler carefully. "And why did you do that?"

He frowned. "Don't you know by now Miss Granger? Don't you know what happened?"

"No. Draco told me nothing on the way here."

He nodded gravely, realizing he had more to explain than he originally thought. "Percy Weasley made an emergency call to the Ministry last night. We've been trying to get into contact with Mr. Malfoy since arriving at Percy's home, but he only just responded an hour ago. Percy Weasley apparently allowed Astoria to stay at his home last night, after learning some disturbing news from her. He was alerted that something was wrong, and discovered Miss Greengrass to be dead only moments later."

"But-"

"We learned that Astoria was staying at Adam's apartment," the man continued, speaking right over her. "The Minster knew, but he wasn't certain how deep the connection was."

Hermione shook her head, staring at him with wide eyes. "Wait, stop. Just _what_ are you talking about? What does this have to do with anything?"

Chandler sighed, rubbing his head. "you're more out of the loop than we originally thought. Miss Granger, let me put this in the simplest of terms. There is a body downstairs that is very much Astoria Greengrass'. A medical report has been filed about her attack, and a Healer is supposed to be looking into the death sometime today. I intend to hand the file to you."

"I'm not on this case," she reminded, her mind swimming as things tangled around themselves. He wasn't making a whole lot of sense. "I'm already assigned a job, Mr. Chandler, a job helping Scorpius Malfoy. I can't accept another case."

"I never said you were," he replied airily, waving his hand. "I said I was handing you a file. It might be a bit out of conduct, but I don't really care. You see Miss Granger, some of us who are high up in our department know things that others never will. I received information initially when Scorpius Malfoy's tragedy entered the papers, and have since kept the file close to me. After reading through the report on Astoria's swift death, I've come to terms that it is something you need to read as well."

"You don't even know me," she retorted, crossing her arms. "How do you know what I need?"

His eyes twinkled briefly. "I don't. But I have worked with you indirectly on a few cases, and I'm well aware, as is anyone else in Britain, that you're a brilliant witch. I see things that distantly connect together, and I'm sure you'll be able to connect all the dots and reveal the truth, Healer Granger. You might discover a thing or two about your former work partner as well."

She tilted her head to that, still unsure why this man she had only ever vaguely seen the name of was so intent on giving this file to her. From the contents of his jacket he pulled a file out, handing it to her. She supposed it had probably been shrunken while inside there.

"Read the file Miss Granger," he continued, looking over her shoulder at two approaching forms, "I think it will help you. I'm betting that it will help us all. Things are becoming more and more complicated by the day."

"Yes," she agreed, continuing to watch this strange man. He didn't make a lot of sense to her, and the scattered bits of information he sent her way only served to give her a headache. Hopefully by reading the file in her hands, things would make more sense.

She'd have to check with that other Auror once Draco was finished conversing with him and make sure she was actually supposed to be set up. After everything she had been through recently she wasn't going to be so stupid as to take a Ministry file without first checking. She didn't want to lose her job too.

"Hermione," said a voice, catching her off-guard. Whirling around, she was surprised to see Harry and Ron standing behind her, the both of them scanning her body, as though making sure she was alright. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

It was Ron who spoke, but Harry to launched himself at her for a hug. She couldn't believe she didn't see this coming, especially when she was visiting their department. Ron followed suit, and she mumbled hello to the both of them, trying to show them that it was pleasant to see the two. Although she would love to converse and catch up about what had been happening over the last several weeks, she couldn't, not with that new file sitting in her hot little hands.

Turning around briefly, she attempted to thank Chandler for the file. But glancing around the hall, she frowned. He wasn't there anymore.

_How strange._ But she couldn't focus on that right now, not with her two excited friends speaking to her like they were. She needed to say something.

* * *

Sitting in the trees, he studied his surroundings. Blood still clung to his fingers under the nails, but that wasn't something he wasn't accustomed to. He rarely had a clean kill. Lounging there, he wondered when he would be bothered.

Sarafene, she had to know what he had done, and where he would hide. But the question was whether or not she would betray him. The nights they spent ravishing each other in bed, drawing attention through unpresented and indecent kisses, it would all mean naught if she betrayed him and revealed his common hiding places.

Adam knew that she was coy though. She would see whether or not it was worth it for her to speak aloud, and if it was she would drop him for something better. Her biggest ambition was always for protection, but he wondered when she would see past mortal protection to the ability to kill humans. She just needed to see red, and then she would literally be everything he ever wanted her to be.

He hoped she would play smart and say nothing. Merlin knew what she had already revealed to Malfoy and his old partner Granger. They were bad news; always asking questions and prying around. He didn't like it.

It didn't matter that the Weasley boy was alive and certain it was Adam who killed Astoria, for who cared? She was a plaything for one, meant to be discarded in the end. Her death just came earlier than expected through her betrayal. He knew Percy would push to have him investigated and searched for, but Adam had no intention to hang around to be caught in his little game. He hadn't gone through all of this effort to be stopped now.

He had plans, big plans, plans that would remind humanity that they were not the only ones alive still. Greater forces still thrived on earth, forces that didn't like humans any more than humans liked them. And he intended to see that point through.

* * *

**A/n:** Dark chapter here. But let me know what you're thinking lovely readers and keep them reviews coming :) They do help, and they make me feel good.

This story has less than ten chapters remaining dearies. We're getting to the end!


	27. The Tears

**A/n:** Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and** Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited. Don't forget you can check me out on facebook as well! The links up on my page.

* * *

**The Tears**

After escaping the clutches of her friends, Hermione had some time to think. The file sitting heavily on her lap as she sat in a chair seemed to weigh a ton, as though everything from this moment on revolved around what Chandler had given her. And she didn't like that.

Everything he said was slowly stacking up in her head. If Astoria was bitten by Adam, that meant that it was possible that Adam inflicted the same kind of possessive bite on her that Crabbe decided to place on Hermione herself. Meaning, the woman fought a possessive, controlling man right up until he killed her. But now she wondered what secrets Astoria knew that made her worth killing to begin with.

Astoria was controlled, just like her. The bite mark was sized though in the file, and after inspecting her own faded bite, she realized that the two pairs of teeth were of different sizes. Perhaps now she should inspect the size of the bite on Scorpius.

She had been to see the body, studied the frozen eyes. It was eerie to think that the person was once alive, only hours before, and was married to Draco just weeks before that. She didn't like all the connections, nor how everything was beginning to form a web. Every aspect of every little thing somehow seemed to be connecting to something else, and she realized that wasn't good. There was obviously a target group, and the Malfoy's seemed to be at the center of it all.

But why? Why did all the problems seem to have a connection to Draco? First his son being bitten, now his ex being killed? He had even been bitten! But what was the purpose? Were the Malfoy's the main target due to the land the Manor rested on, or was it by chance that they became the victims of such misfortune? She wasn't really sure.

On top of that, it reminded her of her parents again. Greif still lingered in the back of her mind, withheld for the time being until she could properly accept their passing, when things weren't quite so difficult and hectic. They were killed by someone, something, and she had yet to discover who and why. What threat did two comatose bodies have on the world?

She didn't have answers to any of her questions, and couldn't remain sitting where she was either. Harry and Ron knew about the death of Astoria, having been told that she would probably arrive. She was thankful though that they didn't have any spiteful words towards the blonde just then, not when things were so awful for him. At least during times of grieving, the two could accept Draco in well enough. That didn't make them friends, but she was grateful that she didn't have to listen to them bash the blonde in that moment.

Forcing herself to stand, Hermione tucked the file beneath her arm and moved away from her current spot, deciding it was time to search for Draco. Chandlers words continued to echo in her mind as she thought about the file pressed against her side, but it didn't prove to help her as much as she needed it to. She already knew several of the things in the file, but now she simply needed to make the connections.

And there were similarities between some of the circumstances she had experienced and the situations Astoria Greengrass went through before her death. Hermione wondered what had been the final straw, what really made Astoria leave Adam.

Certainly, she would hear about that story at some point. Possibly from Draco.

It didn't take long to find Malfoy either, for he was sitting at the end of the hallway where they originally went to speak to someone, the room where she met up with Chandler. He was leaning against the wall, staring blankly into space. Cautiously, she sat beside him.

"Hey," she said, keeping her tone calm. He didn't acknowledge her.

Her profession kicked in then, and she gently reached out and grasped his hand, rubbing cool fingers over the back of it. He didn't acknowledge her then either, but she could see his eyes drift from the ceiling down towards the floor. Without thinking, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Your son needs you," she reminded, thinking of the child back at his home, his uncle watching the poor, now motherless, boy. "He's going to miss you if you don't go back, especially since you ran out so fast last time."

"What's the point?" he asked, refusing to look her way. "I don't want to see him."

"That's a lie Draco, and you know it. You don't want to accept reality," she said, knowing it came off harsher than she meant for it to be. Quickly recovering before he could take that the wrong way, she continued on, "And why do you ask that? The point is is that your son still needs his father."

"He's not going to want to see me," he said quietly.

"He's doesn't know what happened," she reminded him, reaching up to play with his hair. "And for the moment he doesn't need to. Not tonight, not for the next few days even. He's young Draco, and she's already been out of the picture for a few months. He won't know the difference if you don't tell him immediately, if you wait and see what really happened to her before you try and tell him his mom isn't coming back."

"I don't think I could," he replied, glancing at a wall now. "He may not have been close with Astoria, but he did love her. She is… she was his mother Hermione, and whether or not she was any good at it is beside the point. He loved her."

"And he had every right to," she agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But we aren't going to get anywhere by sitting here in the hallway. Let's go back to the Manor, okay? Right now we can't do anything, we can't even learn anything new. The Aurors are still trying to figure out what even happened, other than the obvious. And they're going to have to drag Adam into custody to interrogate him."

"Yeah, Adam the fucking vampire," he muttered, shaking his head. "I knew I never liked him."

"You didn't like me too much when I first showed up over there either," she reminded, moving to grip his hand. She stood, and tugged lightly on his arm. Unhappily, he stood as well.

"I like you now," he said, wrapping an arm around her. The action startled her, but she didn't let it show. More than anything, she supposed that he was just looking for comfort right now, after dealing with the shocking events. She wouldn't read too far into it in that moment.

"I know," she said, beginning to move. He followed along, still avoiding looking at her. She wondered why that was. "I'll get you something to drink when we return, whatever you like."

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "What I want to drink you wouldn't approve of."

Hermione shrugged. "For today I won't make any remarks about how alcohol is terribly bad for you when consumed in large quantities."

He shook his head again. "I don't want anything to drink Hermione, really. I just… I need to see my son."

"Of course," she replied, rubbing his back. They found the nearest floo, and settled to take it out of there. She just hoped he wouldn't become a raging ball of anger any other time that day. He might've been angry earlier when he found out Astoria was dead, but she hoped that emotion would dissolve into sadness, and not burst into another bout of ranting.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know anything!? You are always with him!"

"Despite popular belief Minister, I don't spend a lot of time with Adam at all. He chooses to live a city life, and residing in a city filled with people who would all just love to kill me at any time if they ever found out what I was just never appealed to me. Other than our usual meetings, I never really saw him."

Sarafene had been called to the Ministry immediately after the incident with Adam and Astoria was reported, and ever since he had been trying to get answers out of her. So far, nothing was working.

"I have to figure out where he would be," the man said, sitting back to rub his head. "You don't understand how serious-"

"Of course I do!" she snapped, standing from her chair. "We only live in harmony so long as we play by the rules, Minister. Adam has gone above and beyond all the rules, actually killing a woman in cold blood. It's a big problem for myself and the other vampires living behind Malfoy Manor, and you can certainly believe that I understand how serious this is."

He held up a hand. "Alright, Sarafene, I appear to have misspoken."

"You have indeed," she remarked bitterly. "I don't know why Adam was so interested in that mortal girl. I keep telling them that mortals aren't things we can have, play with, or love. You humans don't withstand pain as well as we do, and aren't nearly as tough. I'm sure he knew that from the beginning though, that he could easily kill her, and that was probably part of his plan."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't find it remarkably odd that the woman who was killed is also the wife-"

"Ex-wife."

"Whatever, ex-wife, of Draco Malfoy? We live on that land, we have known that family for generations. Hell, when he was pretending to be a Healer he was Hermione Granger's partner!"

The Minister's eyes widened a hair. "You know of that?"

"We all do," she said, crossing her arms. "He liked to talk about it. He found it fun to look through her things, mislead her."

For a moment, the man looked ashamed. "I fear I pushed him too far, that I wanted too much out of Adam. Sarafene, you have to understand my reasoning here! Out of all of you, he's been the most willing to try things, to venture into the mortal world and interact with humans. I see now though that maybe I let it all go to his head too much."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Frank Williams was instructed to place Adam and any other even moderately qualified Healer on the case of Scorpius, ensuring that Adam would get more done. I felt it up to Adam to decide how to handle things, and to this day I still don't know what he had in store. I think having Hermione Granger at his side made him uneasy."

"Why?"

"She's not like the everyday person; she's unspeakably brilliant. She latched onto this case, put fear in the backseat and tried to help Scorpius unlike anyone else has. That's around the time that I did something terrible."

Sarafene cocked her head. "What did you do?"

He pursed his lips. "I gave him a potion to deteriorate her parents health, but he took it a step further than intended. Instead of simply deteriorating their health, he killed them. That was when I first began noticing that he was slipping out of my grasp."

"That was only the first _hint_? If anyone else had done that, Minister, they would've been killed. Adam… Adam should be no acceptation."

"No, I see that now. Adam has been aiding the Ministry for quite some time now, especially since the war. Where he went to during the war, which side he stood for, I've never known, but he is here with us now and for a while he was doing amazing, good things and creating a strong bond between the Ministry and the vampires. However, I see now that his intentions may not have always been for the better. He's been using his placement in the Ministry and his immunity to get away with things, things that we have all overlooked."

"And now he's hidden someplace in London," she said, tapping her chin. "I know Adam well enough at least to know that he wouldn't leave town of all things; he's done all of this for a purpose, and he's going to remain around to see it all through."

"You can't contact him?" the Minister asked, his voice a hint desperate. She shook her head.

"I've tried to call out to him in my mind, but he has blocked himself off. He doesn't want to be found by any means."

"That's what I feared," the man said, resting his head in his hands. "I'm just concerned about what he shall do next."

"As am I. I can't predict what he's thinking, what he's trying to achieve. Everything has blurred together, but I feel that we will find out soon enough."

"I hope so," he muttered.

There was a pause between them, a pause that she used to clear her mind. Adam was top-priority right now to find, because he was now a danger to everyone. He had secrets to hide and a motive that still remained unseen, and that concerned her. She thought she knew Adam, but it seemed that she didn't know a lot about him at all.

"What now?" she asked, her voice dead. "What will we do now that he's broken the rules?"

The Minister sighed, looking up again. "This can't just be ignored; the newspapers are already in an uproar creating a major story on the entire ordeal. Astoria Greengrass was rich and well-known, and the fact that she's been murdered now will stir up headlines for weeks probably. For now, the cause of death is going to remain undetermined and we are going to keep reporters as far away from this as possible."

"You know that's not what I meant," she said, frowning. "What will you expect of us, out in the woods? I'm hoping you don't expect us to leave."

"Nonsense, Sarafene, you have done nothing wrong. The only ones of you who will pay a price will be anyone who aids Adam from this point forward, or if they ever did so in the past, and assisted with Astoria's death or anything else. I will not punish all of you for the faults of the few."

She nodded, gratefully. "I'll report to you if any of us spot him. We'll keep you posted."

"As I shall keep you. I don't want to see this get any more out of hand. All we are missing at this point are some answers."

* * *

She left them alone when they returned to the Manor. Although she spent some time in Scorpius' room after returning for a while, Malfoy really wasn't paying her any attention. He was hugging his son, letting the nails cut into his flesh. He needed his family right then more so than he needed the witch he was falling for, and she could understand that. Deciding to give them some space, she disappeared off to Draco's potion room for a bit to see if she could actually create something useful.

Unfortunately, she wasn't in the right mindset. Potions really weren't her specialty to create from nothing, and she struggled with the process. On top of that, she was thinking about her parents again, and that had her in a bad mood. Instead of logically thinking about what might mix well together, she was thinking of what they would say if they could see her now.

"_It's dangerous to play so carelessly with a cauldron of bubbling things," her father would say, looking on at the potion with disdain. He didn't like when she made them in their home._

"_I'll be careful," she would reply, grinning at him._

"_You're living at a boy's house!" her mother would say, looking horrified at the idea. "I always thought you were going to marry Ron!"_

"_Ron is married," she would say._

"_As you should be! I've never heard a good thing about Draco Malfoy, so why him? Why do you keep falling faster and faster for someone you've hated your entire life?"_

"_Oh mom, things can change. Look at how they did change. I'll never even see you guys again."_

"Why are you crying?" came a voice, interrupting her thoughts. Hermione snapped herself from her daydream, looking up to see Draco staring at her.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just lost in my thoughts is all," she said, smiling as she whipped the drops of water off her face.

He frowned, reaching out to brush a stray tear from her cheek. "Sad thoughts?"

"No," she lied lamely, attempting to turn away but he stopped her. "It's nothing Draco."

"It's something," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Today's your day," she reasoned, glancing away. "Today's your day to be sad."

He scoffed, pulling a bottle of Merlin knew what out of her hand, and he set it on the table as he gently grabbed her waist, leading her over to a couch on the far side of the room. He made her sit down with him there, ignoring how upset he seemed. "Stop being silly Hermione, there's no designated day to be sad. What's wrong?"

She shook her head, shoving those bloody emotions back. He wasn't supposed to see her cry, he wasn't even supposed to know she was sad. That's why she cried in there, hoping to avoid seeing him until she was finished. He just appeared from nowhere though, swooping in unannounced and deciding to play the part of the hero.

"It's nothing," she said again, meeting his eyes. "Just old things, that's all."

He titled his head, studying her face. She couldn't read his face, couldn't decide what was going on in his head after she spoke, but she could tell that he was thinking hard about something, at the very least.

"Your parents," he said quietly, resting a hand on her cheek. "It's about your parents, isn't it, Hermione? Fuck, I forgot all about that amidst all the drama!" He shook his head. "You've never spoken about it."

"Don't you think there's a reason for that?" she said, closing her eyes as she felt the tears falling down her cheeks. "Maybe I don't want to talk about it."

Without giving her a choice he adjusted beside her, moving so that his arm was draped behind her, and she was now leaning against his chest. If she didn't like the position, she had nothing to say about it.

"You should've said something," he muttered, stroking her hair as she cried. "We should've talked about it sooner. If I hadn't forgotten, we could've."

"You're supposed to be the one crying!" she sobbed, her face pressed into his chest, causing her words to be muffled. "Not me!"

"I did cry Hermione, earlier, with my son. He doesn't know what's going on yet, but I have to mourn her, at least a bit. She did give me a child after all, even if I didn't really love her." His other hand moved down to rub circles on her arm, and he kissed the top of her head. "Besides, there's no reason why you can't cry."

"Yes there is," she muttered, but he could hear her resolve breaking as she spoke. Her sobs got louder, and her body shook a bit. He'd forgotten how little they had spoken of her parents since they died, and how little he knew of the situation. Rubbing her back, he wondered if it would be possible to get a story out of her at all now.

Instead of pestering her, he decided to just comfort her instead. He whispered sweet things in her ear, told her everything was going to be alright. It was a bit different than the method of comfort she tried back at the Ministry, but on her it worked wonders calming her down. If she had done this to him, he probably would've shoved her away.

It took a bit, but eventually he got her calm enough that she was just sniffling, the shakes disappearing. There was a large wet spot on his shoulder now, but he didn't pay it any mind as he made her sit up, brushing the rest of her tears off her face with his own fingers.

He looked her in the eyes. "It's good to cry you know, Hermione. It's a way to relieve tension, and in this case, it's expected. You don't have to feel bad about breaking down over something like that, no matter what happened today. Alright?"

She nodded, attempting to straighten herself out. When she looked back at him, she gave him a watery smile. "I've ruined your shirt."

Draco rolled his eyes. "As if I don't have another. Don't worry about the bloody shirt Hermione, I'm certainly not."

Sniffing, she nodded again. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me cry on you."

He blinked, a bit surprised by her statement before he chuckled and rubbed her back. "Anytime. But I think you need some rest now; you've used every potion ingredient in the bloody room, so I'm assuming you didn't actually get anything done."

"Did I?" she asked, a bit alarmed that she'd used so much. Again he chuckled, using his other hand to rub her leg.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I just want you to rest now."

"You need to rest too," she pointed out, even as he pulled her up.

"Fine," he said, "I'll rest with you then. Fair?"

She laughed quietly, closing her eyes at the sensation. "Fair." He wrapped an arm around her hip, leading her from the room, still slightly concerned that she may cry again.

"Oh, and Granger?"

"Hmm?"

"Someday, I do want a story about what really happened."

To that her face dropped a degree, fearful of having to explain that story to someone, again. But, if nothing else, she thought she felt more comfortable telling Draco than anyone else at that point. Overtime, they'd grown closer.

And, she hoped, they'd continue to grow closer still.

* * *

"Someone killed them?" he asked quietly, running fingers over her bare shoulder. Her shirt had slipped down on one side sometime during their nap, and now exposed some of the bare flesh to him. He was mindful however of the serious topic though, and kept his touching to a minimum for the time being.

"Yes," she said quietly, and he could see the soft tears on her face again. "I haven't buried them yet."

"What? But isn't that-"

"I made sure that I can bury them," she replied, closing her eyes as the conversation became difficult again. The cause of death wasn't determined originally and the doctors there are still confused about how they died. I intend to just go swipe their memories once this is all over, and I'll bury them then."

He didn't dare ask what kind of condition she thought her parents bodies would be in after such a long time. "I'll come with you, if you'd like."

"You don't have to do that Draco," she said, "You're going to have your own problems as well."

He shrugged. "Well, maybe we'll get to handle them together."

Hermione smiled lightly at that for they had been talking about this for the past hour. First it began with the woman summarizing what happened with her parents, and the few details she knew. She still didn't know the killer, or the motive, just that she intended to find out sometime. And speaking to Draco just put things into perception on how much she still needed to do with this. She got so caught up recently in her job, her distraction, so much so that she didn't do anything for the parents she lost. Somewhere along the way, her priorities got confused.

He knew why she showed up late sometimes now; she had to go and see them or pay a new bill. And he knew why she worked so hard for a meager pay as well. He understood her a bit better now, and it made her feel closer to him.

They sat in silence for a while, relishing in each other's presence. It was nice sometimes after a strenuous day to simply relax and try to forget the world. They both needed that after the experiences of today more so than anything else.

At length Hermione sat up, peering at the blonde man beside her, and he peered back. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his, and started kissing him.

Quickly, it became feverish. Light kisses became harsher, and they ended up laying down, her beneath him. She knew they were both just stressed, concerned, and emotionally finished for the day. They needed some sort of tension release, and she had a feeling that she was going to discover just what Draco looked like without clothes on.

He bit her lip, and she returned the rough kisses by sucking on his tongue. Practiced fingers found her shirt and pulled it up and over her head, breaking their feverish contact for a brief second. They returned to kissing, and she found the buttons of his shirt, undoing them quickly as something hard pressed against her lower body, and she moaned into his mouth.

It had been a long time since she had any physical contact with another person, and Draco seemed like an excellent person to reintroduce her to her sex life again. Part of her needed to be reawakened, lost under the pounds of stress over the years. She hadn't been intimate with another person in ages.

But she wanted to be. Sliding his shirt off his arms, they paused just long enough to magically lock the door, and place a contraceptive spell on them, before they returned to kissing. It felt amazing to be that close to a person, especially after so long, after such a difficult day, and she didn't think anything would stop them this time from going as far as they pleased.

This time, there was no anguished cry from outside, and nothing interrupted them, nothing stopped them as he pulled her trousers down, lust clouded eyes staring at a mirror image of themselves as he undressed her, and she hurried along to do the same thing. Nothing interrupted them.

Even the two sets of eyes, staring up at them from outside, perched in the trees.

"See," Adam said, pointing to the two, his eyesight allowing him to pick up the scene in detail, just like the man beside him. "You don't have her, you don't own her. Not yet anyways."

And from his perch beside Adam in the tree, Crabbe growled. "Then how do I keep her?"

"Patience," the man replied, grinning at the younger vampire. "You help me, and I'll help you. You'll have her yet."

* * *

**A/n:** Filler chapter, I know. Thoughts? Also, what do you think Adam's reasoning is behind everything? Let me know!

If there's something up to this point that you really don't understand please say so! Other than Adam of course. Let me know, just in case something hasn't been explained thoroughly :D


	28. The Solution

**A/n: **Hi there! Thanks to my amazing betas **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Solution**

Hermione awoke in the morning feeling sore but pleased. Last night she and Draco had wild feverish sex, and the feeling of him shoving his cock deep inside her still echoed in her mind even as she stretched, smiling lightly at the soreness between her legs. She was naked in his bed, the blonde still snoring quietly beside her. Last night was amazing, and she would savor those moments with Draco.

He was fucking amazing in bed. She hoped there would be a rerun of last night's exciting experiences soon. She certainly wouldn't be forgetting anything about that sexual experience. And to think, they ended up sleeping together _after_ she told him that dreadful story about her parents. What started out as an attempt to comfort morphed into frenzied sex. It wasn't really her intention for things to go that way, but she wasn't going to complain. Despite herself, she felt better than she had in days.

Apparently, she had been too tense. All she needed was a man between her legs, making her quiver and moan to get rid of all that stress. If she knew that Draco could make her feel so good she would've been much more open to a friendship with him earlier. Perhaps they could've started doing that earlier on as well.

Getting out of bed, she searched for her bra and knickers. Although she didn't feel like she had to be dressed in his presence, she felt more comfortable that way. But it wasn't because of him; it was because of that window. She recalled Crabbe telling her earlier on that he could see them in the room together; back when he thought they were married. F he had seen them doing nothing then, she was frightened to think what he might've seen of her last night when she was busy fucking Draco. The fact that the curtains were open hadn't bothered her until she was drifting off to sleep, that thought echoing in her head. But she had been too tired at the time to do anything about it, and left it be. Although bra and panty set wasn't really going to cover her at all, it at least hid her assets. Once clothed in the minimal clothing she threw the curtains shut, feeling a bit too dirty knowing that someone- especially Crabbe- may have watched them. The thought made her skin crawl.

"Come back to bed." The voice startled her, and she spun around to see Draco propped up in bed on one arm, holding the other out for her to take. Without a moment of hesitation she crossed the short space, hopping back into bed beside him as he grabbed the blanket and threw it over her, fighting off the chill in the room. She snuggled against him. "You're up early. I thought it would take you longer to get out of bed after last night."

She shrugged, wrapping and arm around his torso. "I wanted to get the curtains shut."

He frowned. "Why? It not like anyone can see-"

The blonde cut himself off, his grip around her tightening a hair. Hermione didn't need to be able to see his face to know what he was thinking, to know that he was angry.

"Do you think he saw anything?" he asked, his voice tight. She shrugged against his body, turning to rest her head in the crook of his neck.

"I don't know. It didn't even occur to me until after we were finished; I certainly wasn't thinking about him during. But it creeped me out, and I decided to shut them as soon as I woke it. It probably doesn't do any good if he already saw something, but it made me feel a bit better."

"I wish you hadn't gotten up in just that," he sighed, knowing that she only wore some skimpy undergarments. "He doesn't have a right to see you like that."

She chuckled lightly, turning her head up to look at him as she pulled back a bit. "And what, you do?"

"Well, I got your consent," he reminded, grinning widely. "He didn't."

"Very true," she agreed, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "But we really shouldn't get caught up on that, not when we aren't even sure if he ended up seeing anything. We could be concerned over nothing."

"Or over everything," he reminded, the smile disappearing. "I don't like it; I'm a prisoner in my own fucking house, always worried about those damn vampires now. You're in my bed Hermione, that's my point; you were with me, no one else. No one else had a right to be a peeping tom watching you."

"Sure they weren't watching you?" she joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Crabbe isn't interested in me," he reminded, shifting beneath her.

"You're right," she sighed, pulling away from him as she saw the time. "Merlin, I should be checking your son by now!"

"No round two then?" he pouted, already getting out of bed. Whether or not he wanted her again was obsolete; Hermione knew he wouldn't jeopardize anything for his son, and if they were even a few minutes late on a checkup he got tense.

"Maybe later," she replied, winking as she found a shirt. "Besides, you have things to attend to as well. That potion isn't going to brew itself."

"Yeah," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he opened his wardrobe, "I just have to figure out what to brew together first."

She moved to his side, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Give it time, Draco. I know you're going to figure this out." And she didn't just mean the potion. She had a good feeling that they would unravel the mystery of the vampires together. They seemed to make quite the team.

* * *

Crabbe sat below his usual trees, his nails toying at a piece of wood he had been destroying for hours. Watching Hermione fuck another guy really didn't put him in a good mood, and he was fighting to keep from contacting her through her mind. He wanted desperately to tell her how naughty she was, how he was going to make her pay for this later. She was supposed to be his! Why she fought the reason so hard and even severed his connection he didn't know, but it was really pissing him off.

Adam promised him that he could have Hermione if he helped him. But if Crabbe was honest he didn't know what Adam wanted. Every time he saw the man he got this feeling of déjà vu, as though he had seen the man before, been close to him even. But Vincent couldn't put his finger on it, and he had given up on figuring out why he felt that way. He was probably just imagining it, after all.

He had learned quite a bit last night after turning away in disgust at how Hermione fucked his old friend. He couldn't fathom why she couldn't be so willing for him, why she wouldn't even accept his advances, for he thought he was being quite kind given the circumstances. After all, he did briefly have her under his control for a bit. Fuck, he even got at her through that barrier once. He could've done far worse things than he had, and she wasn't appreciative of that.

Bloody bitch. Oh well, he planned to get back at her for it anyway.

Glancing down at his hand, he stared at the item Adam had given him before disappearing, declaring that he would be back shortly. Although he knew that Adam was an enemy now, knew that the man killed Draco's former wife, he didn't feel compelled to tell the man to shove off. Something about Adam's dark existence drew him in, and compelled him to continue keeping his mouth shut about Lincoln being there. Lincoln was interesting and very, very powerful. He could learn a lot by just being near the guy!

But currently that wasn't what perplexed him. Adam gave him an item that sat in his hand, an item that he didn't really understand, something that he said was the reason Astoria had to die, and that if she had just waited a bit longer, she could've joined his collection. That happened to be pretty much the only thing that disturbed Vincent about Adam.

He'd given him a skull, and apparently Astoria was supposed to have joined the collection of severed body parts whenever her use was complete, though Crabbe was still in the dark as to what use Astoria had in the situation. Adam claimed that she was to be another figurine in the scheme of things, meant to be manipulated and used. And from what he could tell, Lincoln certainly used her. She was hardly a person really from the stories he heard, up until the last few days of her life. He manipulated her, and she twisted in his hands easily enough. He wished Hermione was that way.

But she wasn't; she was strong willed. She fought against him every step of the way, and then gave herself to Draco for Merlin's sake! He didn't understand why she was so hooked on Malfoy, especially after their shared past. Knowing some of the things that the man used to do to her, he wondered how she overlooked the blonde's faults. But she did somehow, or at least she did enough to sleep with him.

And he hated that. But the easily manipulation of Astoria wasn't the only thing he discovered while speaking to Adam.

The Ministry was incredibly controlling from Adam's depiction. They were in allegiance with the mortal Ministry because they could be valuable if war broke out again, or other such circumstances appeared, not because the Ministry gave a fuck about their wellbeing. Adam said that if the Ministry really gave a damn they would be listed under the Department of Magical Creatures and monitored and cared for, not ignored and forced to join in meetings that only partially concerned them. The meetings were a joke to Adam; simply another way to monitor and manipulate. That's why Sarafene was the only one other than Adam that ever went to those blasted things, because the Ministry didn't want to handle a slew of them at once.

Adam believed Sarafene was brainwashed, for although she did like to sleep with him, she was far too easy to manipulate as far as the Ministry went. That's where Adam believed her weak, and outside of sex he had recently begun to simply cut her out of his life entirely. Crabbe knew from personal experience that she wasn't too thrilled about that.

So although the vampires existed as something half living, as half human, half mortal, they were treated like dirt. They existed to help the mortals if need be, yet they were shunned to different selective places, for fear of being murdered lest they leave. Adam said he knew some spells to control vampires, which Vincent found perplexing, and he honestly wondered why Adam needed that kind of magic. Wouldn't that only work against them?

He promised that only a few humans knew the spells, but Crabbe was wary of that knowledge. The spells sounded gruesome, and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of someone's wand if a spell was shot his way. It sounded very unpleasant.

But he knew what Adam was aiming for now, why he caused so much commotion recently and went around killing and seducing rich woman as though it was nothing; Adam was out for blood, and vengeance. As to why he needed those things, Crabbe wasn't sure, but he wasn't elated to find out either. It sounded like an all-around bad combination.

And despite himself, he couldn't help but worry for Hermione. Adam was mad at her for various reasons, and he knew the man even sought her out to kill her, which made him way about whether or not she was a target. Draco was for damn sure a target since his ex-wife was now dead, and Crabbe couldn't be sure, but he was thinking that Adam had something to do with what happened to his son as well.

It was just a hunch though, one he wasn't completely sure about. But he had discovered a lot of things he hadn't known before, things that swayed his opinion in Adam's favor. He did want to side with him, especially if it would get him Hermione. He wanted that girl more than anything, and Draco simply couldn't stop hogging her long enough to share her with anyone else.

A shuffling sound to his left caught his attention, and Crabbe was quick to hide the skull in the bushes, just in case the approaching figure wasn't Adam, and a moment later he was glad he thought ahead. From the trees Sarafene appeared, the lack of sunlight that day allowing them to travel more than usual. She paused at a tree about five feet away.

"We're having a meeting," she said, not bothering to greet him. He knew that their relationship was strained recently, and he knew that it was pretty much because he was trying to manipulate and enslave Hermione, and Sarafene did not approve. "Tonight at eleven."

"Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She raised one in return.

"Adam," she said simply, as though it should be obvious. "It's time we speak about him. He's gotten away with enough, and the clan as a whole needs to take a side on the matter."

"And what if we don't all side the same way?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"It doesn't matter," she said simply, shrugging. "It has always been done on a majority-rules basis. If someone disagrees with an outcome, they are always free to leave the coven." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But you are aware of what such a choice would mean, aren't you?"

"Sara," he said, groaning as he leaned against the tree, "We've never had a formal meeting as long as I have been here. I don't know any of this."

The woman nodded, crossing her arms. "Once you leave a coven, you are not welcome back. You must either be accepted into another pack or go on your own, solo. And it is rare for a vampire of one clan to be accepted into another."

"So I've heard," he grumbled. "Why do we need to have a meeting on Adam? I thought you said he wasn't any of our concern, right?"

"He's not," she said, letting her eyebrows draw together. "At least, not anymore. He chose his side, now he must chose ours. What he's done could cost all of us our lives."

Vincent scoffed. "The Ministry wouldn't exterminate an entire clan due to one person's faults. I know it's been a while since you were changed, but things aren't as primeval as they once were. Humanity as evolved."

"But their individual humanity as not," she argued, contradicting his entire statement. "People still get stuck on what one person out of an entire group can do, and they fear anything dangerous. You have only lived this life a short time; you have not seen what horrors mortals can bestow on us. Once you have existed this way long enough, you will understand the predicament."

"I understand that you're overreacting," he huffed.

Sarafene shook her head, her eyes dropping from his face. "I know you see it as silly Crabbe, but humans are not the most forgiving of creatures. Adam could and will be killed alone for simply taking control of Astoria when she was alive. If it's discovered that you did the same to Hermione Granger, death will also come soon to you"

"I'm not going to die anytime soon!" he spat, recalling that Adam was still going to help him. He hoped that it was right at least, that Adam would keep his promise and help him obtain Hermione once and for all. "I'm new to this lifestyle, they'll excuse it."

"It doesn't matter if you're new! Someone who has only recently changed and is simply trying to process another person without even knowing that there are rules about such things will be exterminated for such indecent behavior. And you attempted to overpower a very well-known witch."

"I have high expectations in the people I take," he said, dismissing the heavy tone in her voice. "She simply doesn't realize she wants me yet."

Sarafene took a step away from him. "That's sick, and you know it. You can't just force yourself on her, or she'll never accept you."

"You think she's ever going to accept me!? Honestly!?" There was anger in his voice now as he stood, ready to face off against her.

"No," the woman replied smoothly, "Because you're trying to force her into something. Women typically don't go for that type of thing, not willingly anyway. Your actions alone ruined this. Well, that, and the fact that she's more interested in the blonde _mortal_ inside that home."

Crabbe huffed. "She's only interested in him because he's a smooth talker."

"Whether that's true or not, it doesn't matter," she spat, placing her hands on her hips. "She's not going to go for you, accept that, before you do something truly stupid."

"I haven't done anything stupid."

The woman pursed her lips. "Not in your own eyes anyway, but others have a different opinion on the matter, even those us in the coven don't completely agree with what you've done. You're twisting her mind, trying to get her to fall for you when she obviously isn't interested."

"She will be!" he seethed, "Just give her time."

"That's what you should've done," she argued, stepping away. "Maybe she wouldn't be quite so terrified of you now."

"What?" he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question. "You think she's _scared_ of me?!"

"I think any woman would be!" she spat, remaining facing away from him. "I think you used to spend too much time speaking to Adam when he came here Crabbe; he poisoned your mind."

"He did nothing of the sort. You're the only one poisoning me."

Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at him. "Fine, whatever Crabbe, I don't have the time to continue arguing with you any longer, much less the patience to listen to you defend yourself against such disgusting actions. You brought this on yourself you know; it's not my fault you went after a girl that was never actually interested. You just need to learn to know when to back off, okay?"

"Fuck off."

She rolled her eyes. "Remember, eleven tonight. Be there or consider yourself removed from the coven."

His eyes widened a fraction. "You'd seriously consider removing me?"

"The entire pack would," she remarked, crossing her arms again. "So watch your tongue. It's quite the lonely life to wander for eternity alone."

He didn't respond to her less than motivational statement, and they shared no parting words from that point on. She left without a backwards glance and he was glad to see her go; she made him think about the situation he was in way too much.

Vincent couldn't back out, not now, not when he'd made a deal with Adam. Glancing in the direction Sarafene left in, a thought occurred to him. Maybe he could do something to really get in with Adam's good graces.

If the meeting was all about Adam, then it was easy to guess that he wouldn't be in attendance. But what would Adam reward him with if he told him about the meeting beforehand, so that the man could listen in.

Crabbe grinned. Maybe he could obtain Hermione earlier than expected.

* * *

"I don't know what to do," Draco said, frustrated as they sat in the library together. That morning they discovered that Scorpius' health was again declining, and that prompted the father to leave his sons side and work on the potion, motivated to go now until he had it perfect. Hermione was about the only thing that could get him to take a break, and currently that was only to drink some water. As an act of comfort Hermione personally flooed Blaise and requested his daughter come visit her sick friend. Since she didn't panic the last time they played. Hermione was hoping that she would survive the situation again. So far, so good.

It probably helped that Blaise came along to monitor the too, not only to ensure that his daughter was safe, but to also alert the two if anything started changing. It gave the blonde a hint of comfort, but barely.

"Well when you get frustrated and throw random things into different cauldrons it really doesn't help at all," Hermione pointed out, sitting back in her chair. She had multiple books open in front of her, searching for anything on the Malfoy heritage and Dragon blood. So far, nothing. "I know you're getting agitated, but you keep destroying all your work whenever you do that. Remember our talk? Deep breaths; they help keep you calm. You keep backtracking by doing this."

"I'm aware," he said, rubbing his temples, "It's just frustrating."

"I know," she said leaning towards him. "But destroying your hard work won't do any good. Cauldron five seemed to be developing pretty well until you through a handful of yarrow in there. I think it destroyed the potion."

"I can remake that, easy." The flicked his wand and cauldron number twelve appeared. He moved cauldrons one and two- the first set of angry failures- out of the way and onto the floor away from the table to make room for twelve. Immediately after he set it down, he began recreating the potion he just lost. He was determined to help his son and stop delaying the problem at hand.

"As long as you slow down and stop letting your emotions get the best of you, I think it'll be fine," she said, giving him an encouraging smile as he glanced her way. He returned it briefly, but it was enough to let her know that the gesture was appreciated. She only wished it would help.

Shoving the now useless books to the side, she started on a new pile. She had no idea what to look up when searching for Dragon blood being laced into a family's blood, and couldn't fathom how someone managed that. Besides, the prospect that Purebloods _weren't_ one hundred percent pure still had her smiling secretly. And people thought she had dirty blood! At least she wasn't part animal!

Then again, it might be cool to be part Dragon. Scanning through the next book, she looked for anything on the subject. This was supposedly a report on heritage, but mentioned nothing about blood. She was growing increasingly frustrated by the minute, until something caught her eye during her scanning and she jumped back to the line that suddenly had her leaning forward.

"…_and Zacharias was the first known to perfect the spell. The fresh blood from a slain monster still holds magical properties, properties that no one can understand, even I. As death rates rose in the early thirteenth century, he fought to keep his family alive. It is believed that after some extensive research on creatures, he discovered that Dragon's remain the most powerful creature in existence. Resistive to vampires and poison amongst other things, Zacharias found this to be the best blood to combine with his own…"_

Hermione's eyes widened and she skimmed the page, searching for more on the blood.

"…_is best administered to the human body through a cut. Once the blood combinations are instilled within you, the combination will never disappear. Therefore no one harboring one type of hybrid blood can cross that with another hybrid, less it be through birth. And sometimes, this can decay the strength of the stronger combination…"_

She raised an eyebrow, wondering if the Greengrass' were crossed with anything. That could possibly explain why Scorpius was so affected, and could even give them a better idea as to how to help the child.

"…_when originally administered, one must cut a slit in both arms, lacing their blood with the creatures by letting it drip into the open wounds. When the magic of the creature mixes with the blood of a wizard, the wounds will heal up, signifying that the bond has been created. This will last throughout the generations of the line, until such a time arises that the line does not continue. Only then will the essence of that creature disappear from a family's bloodstream, forever lost. Once an existing family has ended, the line no longer continuing, the family's creature can be taken by another family. No family shall house the same type of animal, nor the same breed. The Malfoy's since the time of Zacharias have had blood mixed with the Hungarian Horntail dragons, considered to be the most dangerous dragons in existence."_

Hermione rolled her eyes, for it seemed far too fitting that a Malfoy picked that of all things. She read on.

"…_other breeds belong to other families. If the family lines are mixed and the blood types are crossed, they might not always agree. When a child of two crossed families is sick, the can usually recover. But a child who is the essence of three different hybrids or more might suffer more if they have been crossed with too many species, and might need their blood purified in order to continue living naturally. To do so can be a tedious and tiresome task that can take many ways, but can result in healthier offspring. The dominant animal the child will continue on with if that is the case depends on what the two mixes are. Whichever animal is considered most dominant will remain behind in the essence of the child once the blood is stripped, and that will be the only animal carried on._

_Here we list the different hybrids among families, all the known ones from 1856 on."_

She stopped reading, flipping to the next page to read the list. Her eyes widened. It was all there, a list of hybrids that she didn't even know existed until recently, multiple family names listed next to the animal that their blood was crossed with. She read the list only once before jumping up, scaring Draco who nearly dropped a vial.

"What the-"

"It's here!" she said gleefully, holding the book out to him as she snatched the vial away. "It's all here in this blasted book; the answers to our problem!"

His eyes widened and he took the book from her hands, reading the passages she pointed to. Hermione hopped from foot to foot as he read, excited as the answer finally came to them, the reason for her presence there finally appearing in the light.

When he'd finished reading, he set the book down and looked at her. "The Malfoy name is listed at the top of that list."

She nodded eagerly. "The most dominant creature will win out! This is the answer! We don't need a potion or anything of the sort, we merely need to strip your son's blood!"

His eyes widened again. "How exactly do we do that?"

"It's a time consuming process," she said, waving her hand. "But that doesn't matter; I know how to do it and I'll spend the time. The point is that we don't need a potion; I can strip the vampire essence out."

Realization flashed through his eyes. "Because vampires are considered creatures."

"Exactly!" she said, hopping from foot to foot. "The process will take two days, but any Healer can do it, even if I am obligated to be somewhere else." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I can't believe the answer to our problem was hiding right inside those books all along!"

He grinned madly, picking her up to swing her around before setting the woman down on her table beside the books. He kissed her, hard. "You're bloody amazing."

She grinned. "You're not too bad yourself. And just think, a few days' time and things can finally return to normal!"

Draco leaned forward to kiss her again, but was stopped by the sudden sound of pecking on the window. Glancing away from her, he noticed a bird perched on the window ceil outside, Hermione recognizing the envelope the same time that he did. Reluctantly she hopped off the table and walked to the window, letting the creature in. She pulled the letter from its leg, staring at it in dismay.

"Another bloody Ministry letter," he muttered, appearing at her side. "And what exactly does this one say?

She broke the seal and opened the envelope, wasting no time in scanning the letter to see what was requested of them. "The Minister wants to speak to us; it's something to do with Adam."

A weight seemed to settle over them, reminding them that they weren't out of the woods yet. Although they may have discovered how to help his son, how to fix the initial reason Hermione came to Malfoy Manor, they still had the vampire situation to deal with. They still had to do something about Adam and Crabbe.

Things weren't quite over yet, and Hermione felt a bit crestfallen as Draco wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Why couldn't they just forget about those pesky night creatures already?

* * *

**A/n:** And a solution has appeared to half of the problem! There's less than five chapters left dearies, probably closer to three, but we'll see. So what do you guys think of the newest update!? Let me know :D And it's even early.

If anyone is interested in joining a competition please let me know! My team might need a member and we would love to have you!


	29. The Capture

**A/n:** I quite like this chapter. Thanks again to my beta(s) **Tessa Cresswell **and **JDeppIsMyLovely**! **Not yet edited.

* * *

**The Capture**

Surprisingly, the meeting with the Minister didn't take as long as Hermione and Draco expected once they were summoned. Told that they were to report immediately, the blonde begrudgingly left his home, the solution to help his son, and his son as well, and journeyed with Hermione over to the Ministry to listen to the Minister ramble. They were quite surprised to discover what they did.

He wanted to talk about the _vampires_ of all things! After Astoria's murder it became obvious that the Ministry would have more involvement in their lives, and it couldn't have been truer than when they arrived and the Minister shot off a long spiel about the vampires living there due to a Ministry agreement, how Adam was the most evolved of them all, how Sarafene sometimes communicated with them, and a bunch of other rubbish that they had already discovered. The Minister was actually surprised to discover how much they seemed to know about the situation.

Why Adam turned so hostile was a mystery to everyone. The Minister attempted to defend himself by saying that he never suspected that Adam was so insane, and although Hermione partially believed him, Draco wouldn't listen to a word on the matter, and it was quickly dropped. Anyone could understand why he wasn't up for discussing it.

The strangest thing within the entire conversation though was learning that the Minister was basically the vampire's leader. He called the shots, told them where they could go, what was acceptable and what wasn't, and basically controlled them. Hermione could see how hostility could build up from being treated like that, but he quickly shut her down. Apparently saying anything bad about the man was simply not allowed, and after that bit she was silent for a while. Maybe if another innocent died, he would heed her words.

Despite everything though, the most sensitive topic was certainly Scorpius. The man brought up Draco's little boy, apparently trying to be pleasant by asking how the child was doing. But when he was met with a snappy and bitter response, the topic was dropped as well. Hermione held her tongue during it, refusing to say that they had found a solution to help the boy. It was better to not bring things like that up until after they were completed. Seeing that the Minister was supposedly the vampire's leader made her weary, and she questioned the man a bit. He didn't seem cruel, but he didn't sound fair either. Once more, she questioned whether or not this would build hostility.

Shortly after the topic with Scorpius, they left. The Minister didn't shed the light on anything new, and overall they found the meeting pointless and inconvenient. Hermione partially wondered if that was done on purpose, and if the meeting was actually to benefit the Minister, so he could see how much they knew. She hoped it was the latter.

Once back at the Manor, Draco became fidgety. He wanted Hermione to start stripping his son's blood of the vampire essence immediately, but she was apprehensive on the topic. She wanted Hannah Abbott to come over of all people, to oversee the process and make sure that it worked. In case she had to go do something, in case something went wrong, she wanted another top-level Healer at her side to help the process along. Draco knew that this was a safer option, he just wasn't happy that it was going to take more time. But Hermione flooed her fellow Healer shortly after arriving back at the Manor, and Hannah agreed to come over at four once her shift ended.

She even told Williams that she wouldn't be in the next two days so she could thoroughly oversee the process and help things along. Honestly, Hermione wondered if that was a good idea or not. She didn't really trust the man.

"You're sure this is going to work?" the blonde asked later on, close to three, when this son had fallen asleep, cradled in his arms. "You're sure that something can be done? That this is the ideal solution."

"It's the only solution," she reminded, rubbing the blonde's back. "And it's the best option, so we're taking it. Now that I've reread that part of the book again, I have no doubts in my mind that this is the solution, simply that it's better to have two people to handle something like this. Don't fret, this is going to work."

"I hope so," he said, glancing down at his little boy. "I've been waiting months for this."

"And your wait will pay off," Hermione said, resting her chin on his shoulder, "You just have to give it time."

"I know, I'm just tired of waiting I suppose," he said, shrugging his shoulders. Hermione yawned into his neck, the long days and often sleepless nights were getting to her, and she was hoping this whole ordeal would be over with soon. Well, this vampire bit anyway. She had no intention of straying away from Draco once it was all over.

"Makes sense," she muttered, and he rested his head on hers.

"You're tired," he said, and she nodded in agreement. "Perhaps a nap is in order?"

"For all of us," she agreed, eyeing him as he set down his son. Leaving the door open just in case he woke up, the two departed down to Draco's room, hoping to catch a bit of sleep before Abbott arrived and Hermione's next round of work began.

Well, it was nice to be hopeful anyway. In the end, they didn't end up doing much sleeping.

* * *

Hannah arrived at four-thirty, having been preoccupied with rescheduling some plans with friends and grabbing something to hold her over for the next few hours as it would take several hours to strip even a small boy's blood for the first time. Once she arrived, she was startled to find Hermione alone in the Manor, with no Draco in sight.

"Doesn't the parent usually stay around for these kinds of things?" she asked as they wandered towards the bedroom. Hermione had already warned her to be prepared, reminding her that the little boy was still hesitant around people in his current state and that she should be weary. Hannah assured her that there was nothing to worry about.

"Draco trusts me with his son," she said, catching the woman completely off-guard. "Besides, I told him it wasn't the pleasantest thing to witness, and that it might upset him more at this point than help him to see this happening. He's gone off to a friend's house for a few hours so we can complete this in peace." She yawned.

"Tired, are we?" Hannah joked, raising an eyebrow as they walked down the hall. "Are you tired from working with the patient, or from handling the patients father _Draco_."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I've been using his first name for a while if that's what you're hinting towards. And I've been working on this case for months, he trusts me with his child by this point. He just wants to have his son normal and healthy again."

"Understandable," the witch agreed, shoving her hands into her pockets as they reached the door. "Does he know I'm coming."

"Yes, and it would be wonderful if you could be sweet and happy."

"I'm a professional Hermione," she said, grinning at the woman. "I'm not Adam, I don't have ulterior motives. "I'm not going to make Scorpius feel bad or weird or anything like that."

The brunette smiled, grateful that she was being so understanding. "Good."

* * *

Despite the process being quite uncomfortable, Scorpius took it like a champ. Hermione wasn't entirely sure if he didn't notice the dull pain because of everything he had experienced thus far or if he simply didn't want to worry anyone; he held back expressions of pain when his father was around, likely because he didn't wish to disappoint. Only, he wouldn't disappoint. Draco, Hermione and now Hannah were not judgmental, and knew that even people their age may not tolerate such an experience as well. She gave the child major props.

That being said, Scorpius took a nap immediately after the process was over. It was draining on the body, and both Hermione and Hannah felt tired as well. They felt the child in peace, knowing it would take several hours before any changes could be seen, and they weren't even sure that would happen yet. They would need to strip his blood several more times before it was clear again, and it could take until after the next time to get things done.

Afterwards, she retired to her room. She was spent, and completely drained for the process. Draco wouldn't be home for a while still, and she decided to use this time to sleep. Despite her protests that there were enough bedrooms in that place to hold an army, Hannah slept on a couch she conjured in Scorpius' bedroom so she could monitor the boy and sent Hermione off to her room, saying that she needed some major sleep. Apparently there were several bags under her eyes. Deciding to give in for just a half hour, she slumped back to Draco's bedroom, prepared to take her cat-nap before she woke back up and checked on Scorpius. She also wanted to try and be awake if Draco returned and asked about his son. But she knew he would be out for a while, and didn't fear getting some rest for a bit.

It felt like she had only been napping for a few minutes before something pulled her out of her dreams, but the woman refused to open her eyes. She groaned and rolled over on the bed, attempting to get a few more hours of sleep. But the irritating persistence in her head didn't waver, and she again groaned at the feeling of her mind being read.

Her eyes napped open. _Read?_

"_Crabbe, are you back to piss me off?" _She had a feeling he was behind this, for aside from the strange instance with Adam at her home, no one tried to read her mind, or speak to her. It had to be Vincent that was poking around, trying to find something while she was asleep, and she didn't like it. What would he be looking for?

_Hardly, princess. I am here merely to warn you. Look out the window and you will understand._

"_I'm not going to trust you for a moment! How do I know you're not going to grab me again? I do recall now, after many nights of sleeping, that you actually passed through the wards once and grabbed me! I'm not going to trust you for a moment."_

_That's a different occurrence._ He sounded irritated that she brought that up, and she could only assume it was because she spoiled his plans. _I was connecting to you, and the bond was strong. It allowed me to grab you so I could mark you. But someone got in the way of me getting you, didn't he?_

She scoffed. _"Fuck off Crabbe. I'm tired of listening to you."_

_You don't have to listen to me, Hermione dearest. Just look outside your window. _

Honestly, she didn't like the way he was talking, like he was eager for her to look outside. But something inside her mind told her to look, told her that she needed to make sure that nothing bad was happening outside. And she was getting a bad feeling that something was.

Buttoning her shirt as she stood, she made sure she was thoroughly covered before wandering to the window, wand gripped tight in her hand. Peering out she expected to see Crabbe outside, staring up at her with those hungry eyes of his, but she in fact didn't see him at all. What she did see though made her blood freeze.

Scorpius, outside, being dragged away by _Adam_.

Her heart froze, and she panicked. She had to get down there immediately, had to help the poor child. Draco would never forgive her if his son died under her care. Bolting away from the window, she burst out of the room when something occurred to her.

_How did he get down there? I thought he was sleeping._ Instead of immediately rushing for the nearest exit she rushed down to Scorpius' bedroom, throwing the door open none to gently as she did so. But the bed was empty, and no one stood in the bathroom.

"No," she said, disbelief washing through her. She spun on her heel and raced for the nearest exit, practically colliding with Hannah in her hurry.

"What the-"

"Floo Draco!" she said, running down the hallway, her wand tight in her hand. She didn't stop running. "Tell him to come back immediately!"

"What's going on?" the woman asked, moving to follow Hermione. "Is something wrong with Scorpius?"

Despite herself, she couldn't stop. She refused to stop and let the man get away… though for a vampire, she was beginning to wonder why he moved so very slow, but she couldn't worry about that now. "Floo him- he's at Blaise's, so floo the Zabini's. Tell him he needs to get home this instant! Scorpius is gone."

Hannah halted at that, stunned for many moments before she could shake the shock away and follow Hermione. "He's not in bed?"

"I looked, I checked the room! Hannah, he's outside with Adam. Just go floo Draco!"

"Are you sure this is safe?" she asked as they broke through the door to the outside, and Hannah paused as she saw the figure in the distance dragging a small form with lots of blonde hair. Her jaw dropped. "He's not… he's not upstairs?"

"Shh! Don't be loud!" She looked at the figure of her former co-worker, who was getting further and further away. "Floo Draco and get him home immediately, because he will hate you and I both if we don't alert him of this! Do it, okay? Just floo him! And then floo the Ministry and say that you need to speak to the Minister immediately!"

"The minister? Hermione, what's-"

"Not now," she said, already stepping away. Thankfully today there was no snow on the ground to crunch under her feet. "Just do it Hannah, please. I'll handle this."

She didn't look convinced, and peered past Hermione's shoulder. "But-"

"Hannah!" she hissed, shaking her head. "_Not now_. Just please, do this? I'll explain later."

Looking concerned, Hannah stepped away back towards the entrance to the house, eyeing the disappearing figures as she walked backwards. Inside the door she paused, watching Hermione get closer to the figures. Her hands trembled, and she clenched and unclenched them in order to try and keep herself calm. She knew she needed to turn back and get ahold of Draco and the Minister and alert them of the strange things happening, but she couldn't move. She felt rooted in place, terrified that something bad was going to happen to the woman and the little boy. Perhaps if she was closer, she would be able to hear what was being said.

"Adam!" she cried, firing off a hex before she could help herself, getting closer to him with every step. The stunning spell hit him but did nothing, and she could feel her confidence wavering at that. He wasn't even effected. "Stop!"

"Oh, I see you've come out," he replied, dropping his hold on the boy's shoulders at the edge of the woods. "I was wondering when you would make a big entrance."

Her eyes danced between Adam, the fallen child, and the forbidden woods, taking her situation in. She was very close to dangerous territory now, but she couldn't back down. Somehow, he had gotten ahold of Draco's son, and out of the two of them, she knew he was likely to be killed quicker than she was. Staring long and hard at her old partner, she felt her mouth go dry.

"You're… you're one of them."

"Took you that long to figure it out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her as he relaxed against a tree. "Considering how boastful you were all those months ago about your high intelligence, I was expecting you to pick up on that ages ago!"

"I had my suspicions," she said quietly, her eyes observing over to the figure of Scorpius as he slowly stood up, his back to her.

"Why did you never say anything then?" he asked, rubbing his chin. "You might've saved a lot of lives that way, like Astoria's."

Her eyes flashed. "Don't take about her! What you did was horrible!"

"Oh, don't feel too bad, Hermione, she wasn't the first." He grinned, something twinkling in his eyes. "And she certainly won't be the last."

Swallowing down any ounce of fear that she had, Hermione squared her shoulders and looked him dead in the eye. "Let him go," she demanded, pointing to Scorpius who still stood away from her. "I'll stay with you if I must, but you have to let him go. He's just a little kid."

A chuckle started up from her side, and she felt her stomach drop. Slowly turning towards the form of Draco's son, she felt a scream die on her lips, horror seeping through her. For although this person perfectly represented Draco's son from behind, she could see now that she had made a dire mistake in her mad rush to protect the little boy. This person was almost a perfect copy of Scorpius, save for the dark brown eyes poking out at her, and the enlarged forehead. She recognized the face instantly and stumbled back, only to find that Adam had moved quicker than the eye could see to block her path, keeping her from escaping. She clutched her wand tighter, knowing that her knuckles were whitening by the second.

"Polyjuice," she said, the unshed tears effecting the tone of her voice as she muttered her words. For the face staring back at her was no longer that of Scorpius, but indeed that of Crabbe. She had been tricked, and now she was stuck between two walls, two people who would surely not let her pass.

"You figured it out," Crabbe said, his voice sounding funny coming from the small body. "Congratulations, although like Adam said, it took you a while. How did you think that we even got him out of there?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out, and she realized she was in shock. Unable to respond, she looked wildly between the two, attempting to think up a quick solution to her current problem. If she was surrounded by these two, then waiting for help wouldn't do her any good.

Not that she needed to wait. She could always handle herself, it was just going to take a bit of clever thinking.

"I got inside his head," Crabbe said at length when they realized that she had no intention of replying. "I scared him, made him believe that bad things would happen to his daddy if he didn't get inside the closet. Worked like a charm too; we fooled you because your too-good heart prompted you to come down here and rescue a child, and obviously, it effected your judgment." He reached out to caress her side but she shoved his hand away, feeling disgusted. "Touché I see."

"I'm out here now," she said, feeling disoriented and uncomfortable in this situation. She had no intention of prolonging this conversation. "What is it that you want from me?"

The Crabbe-Scorpius mess grinned, the vampire changing back into himself more and more each second. "You're for me," he growled, eyeing her. "I made a deal-"

"You what-"

"Ah yes, that deal," Adam said, speaking over the both of them. "I fear that there's been a change of plans Crabbe. I'm taking her with me."

His eyes darkened. "No, you're not. That's not the deal-"

"Deal's change," Adam said, and before she knew what was happening she was being held tight to the man's front, a blade suddenly at her throat. "I'm sure you understand mate. After all, she's one of the key pieces in this whole ordeal."

"That wasn't our deal!" he seethed, eyes darkening. "I was supposed to help you get to Malfoy, and in return I got her!"

"Well how else am I going to drag that bastard out of his house than with his cute girlfriend?" the man asked, ignoring Hermione's sharp breaths as she felt the cool medal on her skin. "She's perfect bait."

Crabbe paused then, eyeing the situation. "And then she's all mine?"

Adam chuckled. "Oh, don't be daft Crabbe! She's already dead at this point."

Before either of them could react, Adam had twisted her body back towards the house, jumping forward to slam Crabbe back into the dirt as hard as he could. Hermione attempted to regain her composure, still holding her wand tight, but it was of no use. Adam was off by the time she had even taken two breaths, running inhumanly fast like those silly vampires in twilight tended to do. He had flipped her over his shoulder before taking off, and at such an intense speed she hoped she would keep her lunch down.

She beat against his back as they ran, firing hexes at him. She refused to become a damsel; she refused to suffer for trying to do something good. All she had wanted to do was save Scorpius, yet it turned out that everyone would've been safe if she had just looked a little harder at his bedroom, if she had searched for the closet and eliminated the set of circumstances now. She had been in such a rush that she overlooked simply things.

And now, she might just pay for that mistake with her own blood.

* * *

"I have to find her!" Draco wasted no time after arriving back to his Manor in preparing to go and get Hermione. Hannah witnessed Adam taking her away from a window, and was thrown when she saw a second Scorpius outside. But the longer she stood and watched the more she realized that Scorpius wasn't out there at all. It appeared to be a polyjuice potion, one which wore off quickly after Adam and Hermione's departure. Hannah spent a lot of time after that staring at the lone figure left behind, trying to figure out if she knew him during school or not.

But now she had more pressing matters to attend to, like containing Malfoy.

"The Aurors will be here in just a few minutes," she reasoned, trying to stop him as he prepared to go out and find her. "You can't just go out there and handle this alone, not when things are so complicated!"

"I've been involved since the beginning," he seethed, getting in her face. "Trust me, I know how fucking complicated it is. And I'm not happy with it, but there's nothing I can do about it aside from bringing her back. Fuck, she could be dead by now!"

"She's not dead!" Hannah glanced over her shoulder at Scorpius, who she found hiding in his closet scared to death from what she supposed had to be some form of Legilimency done to him. He was frightened, but she had convinced the child to come out and sit in the living room with her. But she didn't approve of his foul language in front of his son. "You need to have some faith Malfoy."

"I'll have some when she's safe here!" he spat, throwing items into a suitcase. "I already lost one mother for my son, I refuse to lose another!"

Hannah froze at that, peering at him through the curtain her bangs provided. Did he honestly just say that? Was he, Merlin forbid, in love with that woman? Hannah found that she couldn't muster up anything to say to that. But before he left, it seemed that the blonde had a single request.

"Go down to the library at the end of that hall and grab me the book that's lying open on the table," he said, pointing in the direction for her. She was unsure about this request, but still too stunned by his comment earlier to say anything. "Please, now!"

Without arguing Hannah went, needing to distance herself from the situation briefly. She really wasn't involved in it, but nonetheless she was attached enough to be stunned by the situations unfolding before her. She would try to not focus on his statement too much, but it would be hard with those words ringing in her head all day.

Things were so strange between the two. He seemed to love her, and now that she was taken, Hannah doubted he would stop at anything, never giving up, until he found her.

* * *

**A/n:** Short chapter but another is on the way soon! Hopefully one more and then the epilogue, maybe two. We're so close! Please R and R if you would.

Again, my competition team is in major need of team members. One has never posted and another is dropping out after this round. If you're interested in joining a long competition forum with the involvement of teams, please oh please PM me!


	30. The Truth

**A/n: **Thanks again to my two excellent betas **JDeppIsMyLovely **and **Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited.

**Warning:** Character death. You've been warned.

* * *

**The Truth**

He threw her on the ground none too gracefully and Hermione gasped as the air was knocked out of her, the force of his throw hurting her ribcage as she impacted the ground. She couldn't tell you where they were for the life of her just that they had to be someplace deep in the forest, for there was still snow in patches there. Lifting her head she sought out her wand, grasping it with shaky fingers. Adam lurked somewhere there, and it would do her no good to lie around defenseless. She just wanted to protect herself at that point, and hopefully stay alive.

"Out of breath?" he asked, and her head shot up to her left. There he stood, relaxed against a tree stump as though this was an everyday thing for him. Struggling to her feet, she kept her distance, eyeing him wearily. She refused to give a response. "Stubborn, are we? Fine, but the longer we converse the longer you can live."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to kill me?" she spat, eyes narrowing. "Like you killed Astoria?"

"Are we on her already? I thought it would take a bit at least to steer onto that topic. I assumed you would have better questions for me than the fate of your beloved's ex-wife."

"He's not my beloved!" she snapped, cheeks turning red. "We're just friends."

"With benefits," he smirked, cockily watching her. "Don't think I didn't see what you did in bed the other night."

Immediately she knew what he was hinting towards, and uncomfortably wrapped her arms around herself, feeling a bit naked in his presence. "That's private."

"Not when you leave the drapes open for all to see," he replied, grinning. "You so easily forget that creatures of the night live just outside that place, with eyes like none other. It's easy to see what the two of you were doing from several acres away. Perhaps next time, you should shut the drapes- oh, wait, I forgot, there won't be a next time."

Ignoring the implication, she squared her shoulders as he finished and tried to look as unflustered as possible. "My sex life is none of your concern Adam, as I'm assuming that is not your purpose for kidnapping me. So what is it then? Are you biding your time or something?"

He reached up and tapped his forehead twice, still grinning. "So that mind of yours still works well, even in fear. Good job Hermione, you haven't lost your bearings yet."

"And I won't," she huffed. "And let me guess, I've been brought way out here to the middle of fucking nowhere for a reason, probably to lure someone here. Considering that you called me bait and already shoved Crabbe away, the only person on your mind is Draco I assume?"

"Smart witch, smart witch indeed Hermione."

"For what purpose?" she asked, purposely ignoring him. "Why are we so important to you specifically? Before our Ministry job, we never knew each other."

"Circumstances," he said airily, shoving his hands into his pockets as he began to circle the perimeter of the space. "If you would only look a little harder at your collection of clues, maybe you would see the connections between everything."

She frowned, having been unable to see anything similar between the abundance of circumstances in this situation in a long time. There were numerous events that didn't tie together, that didn't really seem to fit together at all. Some things, she was sure, were completely unrelated.

So, unable to see his point just then, she chose to start at the beginning. "Cho Chang," she began, running her fingers across the wood of her wand, "We were sent to her by Crabbe to figure out a situation that he himself has never understood. I visited twice with Draco, and on the second visit she was barely alive. Someone decided to cut off our connection to answers. I never supposed you had anything to do with this, not until right now, but knowing that you killed Astoria Greengrass, I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to torture a person into a coma. You had something to do with that, didn't you?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Again, not the point I thought you would start with Hermione, but very well, if that's the most interesting thing you can think of to ask about. Yes, I attacked Chang, but so what?"

"Why did you?" she asked, her mind a pile of mush. If he was really going to answer her questions, she might actually learn something from this situation, if she got out alive that is. "Finding out about how Crabbe came to be was nothing spectacular, and we only did it to help his son. It had nothing to do with you, so you didn't need to cause such an issue. Chang is in the hospital unable to wake up because of you! And she wasn't trying to do anything wrong."

"But she's been warned before," he mused, tapping his chin lightly as he continued to pace. "Warned so many times."

"You're not making sense," she said bluntly, unwilling to play his game. "Are you just stalling until you decide to kill me?"

"No, I'm stalling for a different reason," he said mischievously, looking towards the trees as he spoke. Hermione said nothing to this, sensing that he might not be finished speaking, and that gave her the briefest of moments to look around and try to find a way out. "Do you remember me in that memory, or in the revision sweet Draco gave you? If I remember right, he's the one that went to see her."

From behind him, she blinked. "How do you even know that?"

"I still worked at St. Mungo's at the time," he reminded, continuing to circle her. "He didn't sneak in as quietly as he thought. But unbeknownst to all of you, I have known Crabbe far longer than any of you suspect."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"People were easily forgotten in the war," he began, finally facing her again. "Death Eater's weren't well documented, and if they didn't make a big deal out of their existence the people on your side never needed to know they were even there."

"My side? Are you implying that you had something to do with the Death Eaters?!"

Adam waved his hand. "Like I just said, I kept to myself, and it kept me off your radar. When that cute trio of yours decided to return to Hogwarts, to head on up to the Room of Requirement, I coincidentally happened to be within the walls of Hogwarts- Draco was notorious back then for getting people into the school, and I happened to slip through when no one was around. I heard the ruckus and watched from a hidden standpoint while the lot of you tumbled from the ruins, and waited until you had all departed before searching for the secret door. I was curious to see what was inside."

Her eyes widened. "You were in Hogwarts? You were in the Room of Requirement? You… found Crabbe?!"

"Indeed I did. He was a right mess, all burned to the crisp and unpleasant looking. But I recognized him as one of the goons that followed Draco around at his home, and thought he might be of use to me. Usually if something is still fresh after death the blood is still ripe enough to consume, but I had other plans for the boy. Biting him, I shared some of my own venom, releasing it in several places so the process of changing would be slow. In the end, I knew someone would find him, and there would be no plausible explanation for the event, considering that no one on Voldemort's side knew what I was, let alone any of you. Whoever discovered him would presume him dead, and when the time was right I could go and retrieve him from wherever he happened to be."

"You planned it," she muttered dully, "You planned to change him and retrieve him later. But for what purpose?"

Shrugging, he pulled his wand out of his pocket and twirled it in his fingers. She stiffened, having forgotten that not only was he stronger and faster than her, but he had a wand as well and could harm her, whereas she didn't even know what spells could truly hurt him in return. Her stomach felt like it was in knots.

"I needed someone I could manipulate," he said dully, "And Vincent was the opportunity I needed for my plans. He was completely stupid in life, and even a regeneration of his body wouldn't compensate for a lack of brain cells. For a long time I didn't do much with him, biding my time until recently to begin using him to my advantage. It was quite easy, once I figured out what he wanted most of all."

Hermione's eyes widened in realization. "Me. It explains everything! How he haunted my mind so, why he pestered me, bit me, bothered me-"

"He was smitten with you," Adam grinned, beginning to advance on her. "And you, like every other wizard in this world, could not look past the fact that he was a vampire. I knew you wouldn't be accepting of his existence, and would push him away without a thought That's the drive I needed within him to keep him following my orders. You provided the motivation as well as the contradiction, since I knew from the beginning that nothing would happen between you. It was a failed hope from the start."

"You played him," she said simply, and he nodded his agreement, taking a few steps closer as she backed away. "But what is your purpose for using him? To get to me? As I've reminded you before Adam, we didn't know each other until several months ago when we started working in the same department of St. Mungo's together. It doesn't make sense."

"You think this is personal?" he asked, laughing. "Oh Hermione, this has nothing to do with you! You simply got involved in the wrong case, one which you should've kept your nose out of."

"I'm going to get killed over the case!? What threat did I ever pose to you!? He's just a little kid Adam, and he has no right to be suffering in this in-between state he's in!"

"Right," he agreed, tapping his wand against his chin. "None of this would've happened this way if Draco only waited a bit longer and let me finish draining the body."

Her eyes widened and part of the puzzle clicked together, in more than one place. Taking a few more steps back, she looked on at him wearily. "You bit Scorpius. You're the one who attacked him that night, all those months ago. That's how you had his hair, that's how you got Crabbe to scare him into hiding from me when you created that scene that drove me out of the house. You already had the hair, didn't you, from the first attack. And you're the reason he's suffering! Not only did you cause the original problem, but you've never had the intention of helping that child, have you? You probably knew how to fix that problem in the beginning!"

"He was outside in _my_ woods," he hissed. "I may not live here often, but it is the vampires that do own this land, not some simple-minded wizards! If I just let a child meander through the woods once, he would come back to repeat the action, again and again and he would move from being a curious youngster to a commonplace invader of our land. It had to be stopped from the very beginning; only his daddy came out too early and caught me in the act. I didn't feel that it would be productive to slaughter an entire family, at least not right away, and vanished at the time. It's better this way though. Things are going to work out in my favor."

Hermione was still reeling at the fact that Adam was so damn heartless, but knew she couldn't drop her guard around him. He could probably end her in an instant if he wanted to, though she expected that he would go for a much slower death. "What purpose?"

"You don't see it," he said, marching towards her now, "But you're an invasive, power-hungry species. Mortals are out to control everything and everyone, even if they say otherwise. I never connected with Fenrir because he was too controlled by mortals, even if he wouldn't admit it. The lot of you would rather have power over us and control us instead of living as equals, which we obviously do not considering that we are shunned to specific, _designated_ places, and the majority of us are expected to live in these places without a say, simply because the Ministry deems them appropriate. But the Ministry has had control of us for long enough, and it's time to make a statement. You think you're fancy magic and regulations protect you, but that's not the case. A handful of you actually know how to kill us, and that's only when you can find us. We move faster, are stronger, and many of us can do magic. We're the superior race Hermione, and soon your community will realize that."

"You're making a statement about power," she said, awed at the complexity he'd taken over a simple matter. "You want to be treated as equals-"

"Not anymore," he interrupted, his lips curling into a sneer. "Equality is impossible, and therefore we must reach for something else. Since we cannot exist on an equal playing field, it is time for us to take over. I've lived this way for a long time as an immortal, and I know how to take people down. It will be easy to break you Hermione, and once you're dead I'll move onto Draco. It's a statement really; something that people will not forget when two well-known people die traumatic deaths. You'll make the headlines again."

She held up a hand, sensing that he was about to do something to her. She needed to stall him, keep him at bay as long as possible. "You don't have to kill us, you know. There are other ways to capture the Ministry's attention. I'd even go with you to talk to them, speak to them about how unfair things are."

"No," he spat, advancing on her at a quicker pace. Hermione made to step away, but before she could even move he was in front of her, grasping her neck. "I'm finished trying to talk to people Hermione; it's over." He threw her backwards, watching as her body hit the tree behind her with bunt force, and her body crumbled to the floor. Grinning as she groaned, he returned to his pacing.

Draco would find a way to locate them soon enough, and then it would be over. So why couldn't he tell her the facts. There was no way anyone would find them quick enough to kill him. He was certain of that.

* * *

"It's not going to help anything by barging into the woods!" Sarafene said, continuing to block Draco's way. He was fed up with her, but the woman persisted that it was a fatal move to go into the woods, at least until the Aurors arrived. She pointed out that he didn't know the spells to kill Adam, and that although she might know the incantations, it took time to practice such magic. Therefore, she refused to let him into the woods yet to search for Hermione, fearful that if she did neither of them would return alive.

The Auror's should arrive at any moment. She knew that the blonde had sent Hannah- who she learned to be a Healer- to continue on with cleansing his son's blood, calling in the aid of another worker from St. Mungo's during Hermione's absence to be sure that everything went according to plan. Now Draco was trying to storm into the woods and get himself killed, not even knowing where the woman might be. Off to their side, Crabbe sat, who had already gotten scolded for what he had done, and Sarafene had further plans for him once they were finished. But for the time being, he was the least of their concern.

Only a few days before, the vampires had a meeting in the woods agreeing that none of them would aid Adam and his maddened games if he returned to the woods, lest they be shunned from the group. And Crabbe had deliberately crossed that line. She had no pity for what happened to him now that he had disobeyed the rules, the agreement set forth by the entire pack. He would suffer for being selfish.

"I don't _care_!" he spat, trying to move past her again. "Let me fucking pass! If he kills her, I'm going to blame you just as much as I fucking blame him!" H pointed a finger off towards Crabbe, who thus far refused to join into the conversation.

"They will arrive in a few moments," she said, knowing that it was true, considering they sent the message a few minutes ago. "What you should be focusing on instead of barging into the woods is figuring out just how you're going to find her. Without a direction to head in it will be too late anyway when you find her."

Draco seethed, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to strangle the woman. She was the obstacle between him and Hermione. "Yes, good fucking idea, now how do you intend that I do that?! I don't fucking track her, I have no idea where in that fucking expanse of land they might be. But the longer we sit here the likelier it is that she's going to die!"

Sarafene tapped her chin, seemingly perplexed just like it. "I can enter Adam's mind and speak with him, but I cannot necessarily read it. I don't know how to … what is the word you use nowadays? I'm not a Legilimens."

He groaned, trying to not curse anymore while at the same time unsuccessfully trying to figure out what to do. "I can't either. I would need eye contact to see into his mind and search, and there's probably far too much distance between us for me to do that."

"Can someone guide you in?" she asked suddenly, catching him off guard.

"Excuse me? What the bloody fuck are you going on about now?"

"If I go and distract Adam's mind," she said, speaking out loud as though she was thinking, "Then maybe if I'm in your mind first I can swing your thoughts over through the stretch of space and you can search for the location while I distract him perhaps? It's a long shot, but it might work."

Draco didn't look convinced at all that her idea was going to work, for it sounded completely nutty, but nonetheless it wasn't like he had any groundbreaking ideas appearing to help Hermione. "And if it doesn't work? What exactly do you expect us to do then?"

"Don't be an pessimist," she said, shaking a finger at him. "Let's at least try it while we wait. It should only take a few minutes to test, and it won't do any good to just stand around." Briefly she glanced over at Crabbe, who was staring down at his hands. "Give me your wand."

"_What_? Are you-"

"Just do it," she hissed, watching the other vampire carefully. Draco handed his wand over apprehensively, partially wondering if she was going to turn her back on him now since she had a wand again. But she surprised him by turning swiftly, saying something in Latin, and hitting Crabbe with a spell that dropped him to the floor. The blonde blinked several times.

"If you can do that why don't _you_ just take down Adam!? Bloody hell woman!"

"It won't be as easy," she responded, handing the weapon back to him, "Adam also has a wand, and will be on his guard. I am not the skilled witch I once was; centuries of being a vampire with no wand have degraded my skills, and he could easily overpower me." She extended a hand to the blonde. "Let's at least try this before they arrive, okay? Now that Crabbe is out cold he can't go and snitch to Adam in his head about our arrival or our plans, just in case he's still on Lincoln's side."

He glanced at her hand, still uncertain about her mad idea. But what could he lose? At least she had a plan, and he couldn't spit in her face for it, not when there was even a slight possibility that this could help him find Hermione. He couldn't just turn his nose up to it.

Regrettably, he grasped her hand, hoping desperately that something good would come out of this little experiment.

* * *

Hermione coughed, tasting copper on the tongue. Adam didn't happen to be the gentlest person when it came to killing, and he was literally going to elongate the process until Draco arrived. She knew she was being used like bait to draw the man in for his own death as well, and was helpless to do anything about it. A few moments before she tried to shoot red-signal sparks up through the trees, but he stopped her and threw her wand to the side, before hitting here with a powerful spell that caused her head to slam into the ground and her wrist to splinter. Everything hurt, and she was feeling a bit light-headed. It seemed that al of Adam's past anger and aggression was coming out, and she got to be the unlucky victim of it all.

He was mad, completely and utterly mad, and he wasn't going to give up on his goal. He wanted a statement, he wanted to make mortals fear and remind them that they did not walk alone, and he was going to make it as awful as possible. It had been several minutes before he shed the light on anything else that she did not yet know. Hermione suspected that it was planned that way.

But now he was leaving her be for several moments, and she wondered why that was. Daring to peek over her shoulder, she saw that he was looking slightly perplexed, staring ahead of him. Narrowing her eyes, she tiredly turned her head in the same direction, wondering if it was a mistake to look away. But nothing perplexedly interesting was there, and she couldn't fathom what had drawn his attention.

_Distract him. Keep him talking as long as possible. _

If she had the effort to, she would probably jump at the sudden voice. This was not the voice of Crabbe, the intrusive voice that haunted her thoughts so often. It had a softer, feminine tone to it, one which she had only ever heard before in person.

"_Sarafene?"_

_I can't speak now, Hermione. Keep him talking and distracted, and by all means don't allow him to kill you. Help shall arrive in a matter of minutes._

She didn't really understand what was going on, much less why Sarafene was haunting her mind for the very first time. But she trusted the female vampire far more than she trusted Crabbe or Adam, and decided she couldn't lose much by obeying her. After all, it shouldn't be hard to ask questions, even in her state. There were things that still sat unanswered in her mind.

Rolling over, she forced herself to stand up and stanch her wand. It took quite a bit of effort, and the headache she was fighting did nothing to help her balance. Nonetheless, she was a fighter and wasn't just going to lie there while he tried to kill her.

Hopefully Sarafene was right, and help would come shortly.

"Why did you kill Astoria?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her. He narrowed his eyes, watching her, though he still seemed a bit distracted.

"I knew it was going to get to Draco," he replied, shrugging. "Having her son mutilated didn't do anything, so therefore I figured she would be easy to play. He's been the target from the beginning, considering that the family has lived here for centuries. I always intended them to be the victims, but things turned out different than I originally planned. Having his son run into the woods was a happy accident, and it could've been happier if I perhaps killed the boy; it might've kept you out of the fucking picture if a Healer never needed to be involved. Astoria died because she lived here as Lady Malfoy, and became part of the plan. Her death will be right alongside yours, as everyone is going to know that I'm the one who killed you, and you're beloved Draco."

"I'm not going to die," she said determinably, crossing her arms. "I refuse to let you win."

"Awe, what courage," he mocked, though he still seemed a bit detached from reality. "You're quite the force to be reckoned with, unlike those parents of yours."

Her heart froze, and the world seemed to stop around her. "Don't talk about my parents!"

"Why not?" he mocked, his eyes twinkling. "Is it a sensitive topic for you? I imagine it would be, since they were killed. But don't feel too bad darling, the process was a quick one."

Hermione's wand was out in an instant, pointed towards his face from her position across the clearing. "What are you talking about Adam?" she asked darkly, her eyes narrowed to slits. He grinned.

"Have you not figured it out yet?" he asked, chuckling. He took a step closer, and she was alarmed to see that his eyes looked more focused than ever. "Here's my little secret; I killed your parents."

Without thinking she shot off the first spell that came to mind, which hit Adam dead on without having an effect, but she didn't care. The world seemed to still, and she took quick, labored breaths as her eyes widened. He was joking. He had to be joking!

Her sweet parents, innocents who suffered at the hands of others, couldn't have been killed by the man who pretended to be her co-worker. She couldn't believe it, and her hands moved up to her head, gripping the sides. It was a lie; it all had to be a lie.

She knew something magical caused their deaths, but to hear someone so casually speak about it was traumatizing. Adam honestly had no compassion for people, and considering how unaffected he was by the situation, she knew he had to be heartless. He killed, and he fucked over people's lives, and it didn't affect him in the least.

"Don't look so sad," he said mockingly, sounding more in-touch with the situation than he had been in the last few minutes. "It was a quick death, and they never even knew what was happening. Maybe that's the good thing about being comatose, hmm?"

Hermione could feel the anger bubbling up inside her, the rage at knowing that he killed her parents without a second thought. Looking back at him again she fired off two more hexes, watching them bounce off his body again, leaving nothing behind. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Your attempts at filling the rage inside of you are feeble. You might be angry, but at least they're dead and out of their misery now."

She opened her mouth to retort, but something caught her attention instead. There was a rushing sound behind her, like someone was approaching, and she held her tongue, listening suddenly. Half a second later, someone in Auror robes arrived in the clearing, Sarafene at his side, having apparently brought the Auror there. She recalled the strange words the woman told her inside her mind only a few minutes before, and now understood their meaning.

"Hello Adam," she said, her voice wavering. And he suddenly looked apprehensive, barring his teeth at the two. "Long time no see."

The man seemed about to retort, but Hermione missed whatever was said as three more vampires arrived in the clearing, two towing Aurors, and the third pulling Draco. The moment he spotted Hermione, he broke away from the vampire that brought him, the three only vaguely familiar, and she supposed they must've been part of the pack that she saw the night the vampires swarmed Draco's home.

"Hermione," he said, ignoring everyone else around them. "Fuck, are you alright?" He was already surveying the blood on her, already making a wet cloth appear as he tore off his jacket, rapping it around her shoulders as he place the cloth on her twisted wrist, carefully applying the faintest of pleasure. He then moved to survey her head. "Merlin, I'm so glad you alive!"

He enveloped her in a hug, mindful of her hurt body and possibly broken wrist. But Hermione felt numb in his grip, still shocked from what Adam spat her way. He honestly had believed no one save Draco would find them, and that his insane plan would work.

Despite having Draco there, despite knowing that she would now live, Hermione couldn't find warmth within Draco's hug. She felt cold and out of breath, like she'd been sucker punched. Her world seemed to be crumbling again, reality weighing in as she finally discovered who was really at fault for her parent's death. And it hurt more than she ever imagined.

* * *

**A/n:** An epilogue is coming next. State any questions you have now so I don't leave any open ends! Hope you guys liked this story :) This chapter probably could've been better but I'm sunburnt and it's hard to write so… meh. Reviews appreciated.


	31. The Epilogue

**A/n: **Here's the finale chapter! I hope you enjoy. Thanks to my betas **JDeppIsMyLovely** and** Tessa Cresswell**! **Not yet edited. Don't forget you can check me out on facebook as well! The links up on my page.

* * *

**The Epilogue **

She sat on the soft sofa, staring hollowly at the wall in front of her. Her hair was curled and tied back in a twisted, loose braid, hopefully keeping it out of her hair that day. The gorgeous heels he got her were set aside, replaced by mundane flats that lacked life and colour, might like the dress she wore. The entire outfit shouted dreary, but the event they were about to attend couldn't be described as anything less. Her hands shook in anticipation, but it was more from fear than excitement.

Today, she would lay them to rest. The day she had been dreading for months was finally here, and she couldn't be more shell-shocked. The experience was so much more real now that she was about to do this, and part of her wasn't sure she could. One they were six-feet under, they would be out of her life forever, gone too soon. Gone, but not forgotten.

Hermione had never been more nervous in her life. Standing off against Adam wasn't so bad, saving people's lives wasn't so bad, fighting in a war was nothing. Laying her parents to rest after a series of events that eventually turned out to be more about her than them was too much to handle. In a way, they were killed because of her. And that fact sat heavily in her heart. She wasn't sure she'd ever forgive herself for it. A tear slid down her cheek, and more threatened to slip over. She really needed Draco in that moment.

A door in the hallway ahead of her opened, and a small boy with blonde hair and short nails hurried out. He had lively, grey eyes and teeth that were still small for his age. He was playful, he was joyful, and he was healed. The day after Hermione was released from St. Mungo's following Adam's attack, she saw Draco's son as the adorable child he really was for the first time. Stripping the child's blood had actually worked, and Hannah succeeded in finishing the process alongside a friend of hers, Penelope Clearwater, who was taking over the management of St. Mungo's in Frank Williams place. He had been fired the day Hermione was admitted.

"Mommy!" the little boy called, running over to Hermione. Hiding the pain in the back of her head, she stood with a wide smile and scooped the little boy up, hugging him to her frame. He'd taken to calling her mommy more and more once he finally transfigured back to his normal self, and after realizing that Astoria could never be the child's mother again, she had accepted the nickname. Draco was all too pleased with his son's adoration of Hermione, and she sometimes wondered what he expected out of their relationship. Maybe being Scorpius' mother was a possibility for the future.

"And how's my big boy?" she asked, beaming at the little child. He reflected his father so well it was almost uncanny, and Hermione could easily see Draco in him. But she loved Scorpius for Scorpius, and not for who his father was.

"Good! Daddy said I can spend the night at Lizze's!"

"Did he now?" she asked, eyeing the man that came out from the same doorway down the hall, a suitcase in hand. They were taking his son to Blaise's for the night, so that they needn't worry about hurrying back. She simply hadn't been informed that he was spending the night there, and thought they were picking him up whenever they finished with the event.

Draco shrugged, approaching the duo. "I thought it might be beneficial, considering that we might be out quite late. Besides, he should spend some time with his friends." Winking at his son, the four-year-old winked back.

"Do I still get to come with you to work tomorrow?" he asked, letting a big grin spread across his chubby cheeks. "You promised!"

And he certainly had promised, since his son was bitten by the bastard Adam before he got to take his son to work for his actual birthday, and had promised to take him soon. "No, the day after tomorrow silly. Tomorrow I'm not going to work."

The child pouted, and smiling softly, Hermione set the boy back down. "But you promised!"

"For the day after tomorrow. Don't be upset, or I might not take you flying afterwards."

Immediately, Scorpius brightened. "We're going flying!?"

"Well of course; I know how much you like flying over the forest. I thought we might go flying for a bit."

The boy nodded eagerly, but above his head Draco could plainly see Hermione's uncertainty. When he mentioned this to her last night she had the same terrified look in her eyes, and she acted so much like a real mother it was uncanny. He knew that she was going to be just what his son needed to turn into a proper adult, and by that point he had no intention of allowing her to escape from him. The blonde was too attached, and he knew she felt the same.

She was just too jumbled at the moment to commit to something so long-term, and he was fine with that. She needed her time to grieve, and this was something he would not judge. There would be plenty of time to propose to her, and he didn't intend on popping the question too soon. These things took time.

It had been almost a month since the entire event happened. Her time at St. Mungo's had been brief, but it was long enough that the blonde saw flames. He protested, saying that Adam should not have been arrested that night but exterminated. The Minister rightly refused to do so, and opted instead to banish the man and sent him away.

He felt a bit better when the man's body was found the following day, torn into seven different pieces. He already had a good idea who caused that, and was more than a bit grateful for it all. He didn't deserve to be alive after everything, and considering all the shit he put Draco personally through, he wouldn't have regretted a one-way ticket to Azkaban for personally taking the man out- Sarafene would certainly teach him all the spells, right? But someone else did it for him, and so long as he was dead, Draco decided he could at least be satisfied. His son and his girlfriend were safe, and by that point it was all that really mattered. He refused to let anything else happen to them.

Draco was protective like that.

Scorpius was currently jumping around, excited that he would get to go flying again. "Can we go tonight before I see Lizzy?"

His father clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "Patience son. Remember, we have somewhere to be tonight. Tomorrow for sure."

The boy frowned. "Fine."

"Now, let's get you to Lizzy's before she gets impatient. She doesn't like to wait."

"Nope," his son replied, grinning ear to ear. It was so good to see the child smile genuinely again.

* * *

He held her hand throughout the ceremony, her friends standing invasively to the side. In his opinion, Hermione didn't need them there. She had yet to tell them what really killed her parents, a burden she had shared with Draco before they even got out of the woods. Panicking, she had gripped his shirt, staring at him with wide eyes.

"_It was Adam."_

"_I know love, I caught onto that. He's being-"_

"_No!" she cried, tearing away from him. No one really paid them any mind, as the vampires were too busy baring their teeth to Adam, and the Aurors were distracted trying to apprehend him. "He's the one! He's the one who did it!"_

"_Did what?" the blonde asked, perplexed. He wasn't quite sure what she was going on about anymore. _

_Jumping forward, she grabbed his shirt, eyes wide. "He did it Draco!" Her voice cracked, and he could see her composure breaking. Wrapping his arms around her, he hoped he could keep her from slipping into the ground. "He killed them… he killed my parents."_

_Startled grey eyes peered into hers for a moment, before turning to look towards the fallen vampire, now bound and stunned. He felt something bubbling inside of him; the need to comfort. Looking back at the girl before him, he kissed her lightly, as though a feather was skimming over her lips._

"_Hermione… oh Hermione… I'm so sorry," he whispered between kisses, keeping his arms securely wrapped around her. And it was a good thing he did too, for even as he planted the third kiss on her cheek, he tasted salt, and knew she was crying, breaking in his arms. She collapsed against him, big, chest-shaking tears breaking through her resolve, and the first bout of tears began. It would not be the first- or last- tears shed for her parents in the limelight of things. And Draco was totally prepared to help her cope. _

"_I'm so sorry, Hermione."_

Her friends were outsiders there in his opinion, invading a ceremony that should be private and reserved for just them. The Potter's had their children along, the whole muck luck crew, and Weasley and his wife Lavender were there as well, alongside Lonbottom, Luna Lovegood-turned Longbottom, Finnegan, and even Abbott. They were all there, and none of them understood the backstory behind this tragedy. He wasn't sure if they were helping the situation by being there for her, or making it harder because she couldn't speak the truth about it to them.

He would be overjoyed if they left, but he knew they would remain around after the burial and the speech by this muggle person, whom Draco couldn't give a title for to save his life. They would stay to talk to her and give her well-wishes, as well as their apologies for the tragic loss. And everything would hit hollow ears, her heart roped off by barbed wire to survive this experience. She was bracing herself to be strong in the aftermath of things, but he knew her better than that. She was going to crumble under the pain, and he was going to catch her when no one else could. Draco was going to be her savior, in all aspects. She was there alongside him throughout the most troublesome time in his life, and he sure as hell would be there for her.

Hermione trembled throughout the ceremony, and he kept a sturdy arm around her, ensuring that she remained upright. She cried, letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks, the mass amount of water dripping down her face overbearing the lack of tears shed by anyone else. No one knew them like she did, for Hermione's parents often stayed away from her magical life, not shunning it, but not trying to embrace it. They were there for emotional support, not personal connections. And he didn't think they were needed. He could provide more than any of them could.

When the procession ended, they gathered around like a swarm of bees, coddling the woman who only vaguely acknowledged anyone. She was in a daze, her eyes still glossy but unable to shed anymore tears. And despite everything, she did not let go of Draco's hand as she hugged her friends, thanking them with watery goodbyes for coming to this important event. They weaned off one by one, realizing that she wanted to be left alone with the blonde, the person she was attached to. Even her bet friends eventually got the hint, and left after their wives.

She sat on the dirt once everyone was gone, staring at the grave markers with sad eyes. They were already in place, magic having been used by some of the guests to put them in once the eulogist left. Sitting down, she cast her shoes aside, and found a comfortable pillow on the blonde's chest as she leaned back, trembling again.

It was a long time before she dared to speak, and when she did her voice broke. "They're never coming back."

He rubbed her arm, kissing her temple in response. She didn't need a vocal confirmation to know the truth, and saying that they weren't outright might just upset her more. He kept to his silence, letting her grieve in her own way.

"It's not fair," she whispered, and he felt a tear drop on his hand. Resting his head on her shoulder, he kissed her neck in a comforting gesture. "I played by the rules; I did what they wanted. They would want to heal naturally, and not be cured by magic. Yet magic is what killed them."

"You honored what they would've wanted," he reminded, whispering in her ear. "Any good child would put that first Hermione."

"I worked so hard!" she cried, and he adjusted to hug her fully to his chest. "I lived on the bare-minimum; I worked the outrageous hours to keep them alive in that low grade hospital, and I still wasn't able to save them! If I worked harder maybe-"

"This isn't your fault," he scolded, out rightly refusing to let her take the blame for something a monster like Adam did. "They would be so proud of you Hermione for the woman you became. They would've loved seeing you succeed, and honoring their wishes as you did. You worked hard for them Hermione, and they have to know that. They're not anything but proud of you."

"But I didn't save them!" Her voice broke, and the calm composure she had been barely holding onto snapped, letting the wave of suppressed emotions tumble through. Her heartache, pain and regrets all seeped out, the emotions mirrored in her weighted tears. He wrapped his arms around her at that, allowing her to cry on and tarnish his best dress shirt without batting an eye, and rocked her back and forth as she lost control. He never expected her to maintain her composure for so long to begin with.

Merlin knew how long they sat that way, with him rocking her and her tears leaking out onto the white fabric of his shirt, leaving behind a puddle of tears, but in the end she was unable to pull away from his warmth, and only managed to turn her head to the side, sniffling.

She said nothing, and merely took some deep breaths. He rubbed soothing circles on her back, letting her take her time. This was all about her, and he was willing to sit back and let her do things at her own speed. He was willing to sit there all night for her.

But at one point, she hesitantly pulled away and looked up at his eyes, her still glossy from crying. "Take me home."

His heart skipped a beat, realizing what she meant. He couldn't possibly take her back to her home, for he didn't know the location and wasn't allowed in past the wards, he was sure. The only place he could possibly take her was back to the Manor, to his bed, and comfort her anyway he could.

But she called it _home_, and the word sat heavily between them. _Home_, meaning that she thought of it as such. His heart soared, joy peaking inside of him at the idea that she could consider his abode her home. It made him a bit tingly.

He didn't even bother changing their position before he apparatted them back, clutching her to his chest, barely remembering to grab her shoes before they were gone. He had the perfect spot in mind, and they arrived on his bed, Hermione still clutched against him.

She stared at him for many moments, seemingly thinking over the situation. He set her shoes down beside the bed, and when he sat back up she pounced on him, pushing him back against the mattress so she could kiss him, suffocating him with her lips.

When she did finally come up for air, their eyes met, and he could see the pain still etched there. Brushing her hair back from her face, he gave her a soft smile.

"Tell me what you need Hermione. I'm here for you."

Briefly he thought she might break into tears, but the girl held herself together, taking a shaky breath before she leaned down again, once more attacking his lips with her own in a second searing kiss. He responded eagerly, needing no motivation. She frantically kissed him, searching for something to fill the void inside of her, and he responded to her advances, knowing that it would only substitute for the loss for a short while, but that it might help her cope that night.

She wanted a lover, a caregiver, and someone who would let her be sad and grieve for the first time in ages, considering that she spent the first months after her parent's deaths too involved in the problems with his son to allot any time to miss them. But she had been there for him, and he would be there for her, as long as she wanted him. Hopefully, it would be a very long time indeed.

* * *

"Come on dad! We have to go!" The boy was out the door of the Manor before either adult even started down the stairs, Draco holding his broom in one hand. He did owe his son a broom ride, and the child was incredibly eager to get outside for it. They just weren't as fast.

Hermione was sore from her adventures the night before, though her heart was still fractured. Draco did a damn good job of distracting her from the pain, but even she knew that he couldn't be her vise forever. It was going to suck to deal with everything, to go to her parents' home and clean it out, but it was something that had to be done. But he promised her as they lay there naked staring at the ceiling, the drapes closed, that he would be there for her every step of the way. And she believed him.

Outside the mid-morning air was crisp, welcoming with a slightly bitter edge. Hermione stopped on the patio after kissing Draco, watching the two Malfoy's parade off into the clearing. She ended up distracted from the scene, staring out at the woods.

Those woods, those forbidden woods that had once housed horrors, now housed no dangers. Crabbe, after disobeying several group decisions and basic orders, was dismissed from the pack, shunned to a life of probable-solitude, the Ministry allotting him a two-month stay in Azkaban for assisting Adam before he was dismissed from the clan. Hermione suspected that because Adam was not sentenced to any jail-time, that his murder was probably anticipated. Oh well, it's not like anyone missed him. Even Sarafene, his longtime lover, was disgusted by the man in the end. Hermione respected her for that.

The other vampires were still someplace in the woods, somewhere deep, having made an agreement with Draco to keep their distance, staying towards the denser parts and allowing a divider to remain between the Malfoy's and the vampires, as it should've been to begin with.

After the uproar with Adam, it was a bit hard to hide all the facts of the case. Try as they may, the Ministry didn't hide every single secret, and now there were rumors of vampires coming back floating around England. That might be another reason why Sarafene and the others were so willing to disappear further into the trees. That was just a hunch however.

The Ministry did a half-decent job however concealing Crabbe's identity when he was tried in the courts. He was even given a fake name, and the fact that he was still alive after having been presumed dead during the war flew under the radar of reporters. Hermione wasn't sure if she was satisfied or disappointed with that. She really didn't like him.

After all, he was partially responsible for Cho ending up in a coma at St. Mungo's. But from what her friends were telling her from work, the woman was awake now, the same day that Adam was reported dead. How very interesting.

But from what she heard, Sarafene was speaking with the Ministry about equality. So far, it sounded like a rough road, considering that the vampires were still uncomfortable being around mortals, and some of them lacked the self-control to not go on a killing spree. It sounded like it would be a rough road, one which might take quite some time to come to an agreement on. But considering what she learned about the woman, she wouldn't be surprised if she found a way.

"Watch me mommy!" Her attention was drawn back to the present, and Hermione took a seat on one of the patio chairs, perfectly content to remain on the ground while father-and-son had a little flying trip.

She still didn't think it was a safe idea, but only smiled brightly as the little boy waved, before his father reminded him to always keep both hands on the broom. Grinning, she watched as Draco kicked off and lifted them up towards the sky.

And they went up, just like her future was. From there, things could only get better. And she had a good feeling Draco was going to be a big part of it.

_~FIN~_

* * *

**Final A/n:** Why hello there! You're probably either satisfied or very unhappy with this last chapter. I personally liked it, even though it is a bit short. I didn't want to drag things out too much, you know? I don't like to tie up every single end in a story, because then it leaves nothing for the reader to think about. And this leaves their whole future wide open :)

I hope you enjoyed this story! It was a challenge, but very fun to write. Please note that there is **no** sequel coming for this story. There's a sliver of a possibility that I'll write one last little installment, but it's practically non-existent. I'd really prefer to keep it right like this my lovely readers.

Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/favorite/followed this story! It always means a lot to have people do that. You're always welcome to check out any of my other stories as well!

Again, thanks for reading this long story. Want to leave one last review so I know what you thought overall? Happy reading from here on out my lovely reader, and maybe you'll appear in my review list someplace else!

* * *

I am joining a site for a Fandom that does donations for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Basically, writers are posting different things for the HP/Twilight/Hunger Games fandoms, and readers can donate to read these new stories 3 months in advance. All donations are giving to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help find cures for blood cancers, among all other cancers. Please, visit my profile and take the poll asking what I should write. I'm posting a link there for people to follow, to take you to the page and you can view specific details. There are many fantastic writers participating, each submitting their own work. A small donation allows you to read all the stories on the site, and your money is going towards a wonderful cause. Please vote for what I should write, and then consider donating to the cause.


End file.
